Into the Wood
by Echidna's Pen
Summary: In an attempt to save Chloe, Clark and Lois end up at a dodgy ‘spiritual resort’ investigating a series of strange deaths.
1. Chapter 1

Part 1

Lois inhaled sharply, trying to sum up her best acting abilities before strutting into the large log cabin.

As she entered her eyes scanned the room. To her left there was what looked like a waiting area furnished with a large couch, one lazy-chair and two armchairs surrounding a small wooden table. A couple of magazines were scattered over the surface. Directly in front of the door was the reception.

Putting on a toothy-smile she walked over to the counter and greeted the woman who sat behind it.

'Hi!'

There was no reaction as the woman continued to flip trough the magazine she held in her hands.

'Hi, there!' Lois repeated a little louder, wondering if the woman was deaf.

Nothing.

'Hello!' She continued, this time waving her hand in front of the woman.

That seemed to work as the fifty-year-old-looking blonde looked up with a bored expression.

'Yeah?'

Lois ignored the rude reply and forced the smile back on her lips.

'Hi… Ruth,' She read the nametag that was now visible. 'I'd like a room please.'

There was a moment of pause in which Ruth seemed to size up Lois. Looking her up and down before diverting her eyes. Lois tried to follow her gaze but whatever held Ruth's attention was safely hidden behind the counter.

Focussing back on her magazine she mumbled:

'We're completely booked.'

'What do you mean? The sign outside said you had rooms available.' Lois protested.

'It's an old sign.' Ruth pursued her study of Cosmo undisturbed.

'But-' Lois stopped in mid-sentence when she realised that moping was not going to have the desired effect on frost-lady. Maybe… flattery? 'Oh, surely you have one room vacant. I've heard so many wonderful things about your…' she searched for a euphemism to describe the rapidly decaying group of log cabins that formed the 'Tranquil Oaks'. '…um, quaint resort.'

'It's a spiritual retreat.' Ruth grumpily corrected.

'Exactly what I need! I've just been so stressed with work and-'

'Look lady, I've told you already. There are no rooms!' Ruth practically growled finally looking up from the pages of the magazine.

'Hey!' The feisty side of Lois' character bubbled to the surface. 'I don't know what kind of business you are running here, but all I see are four miserable, mouldy huts lost in the middle of the forest. Plus, some highly questionable construction quality and a funky smell and you expect me to believe that you're all booked! You couldn't have people staying here if you paid them! You think-'

'Lois!'

Her ranting was cut short by a voice coming from the door. Turning around she frowned. What was he doing here?

'Smallville? What are you-'

Closing the distance between them, Clark grabbed her arm and flashing a smile in Ruth direction, pulled Lois toward the waiting area.

'What are you doing here?' He asked between clenched teeth.

'I should be asking you that. I thought you were against my plan.' Lois raised an eyebrow.

'And I am. It's a kamikaze mission.'

'And what am I supposed to do? Just sit at my cousin's bedside and wait while she slowly turns into a human vegetable?' She hissed back.

'The doctors are-'

'With all the head scratching going on in that hospital I doubt they'll figure out what's wrong with Chloe in time. The only clue we have is this place. When she came here she was perfectly fine and when she returned she was…' Lois trailed off at the painful memory of her cousin.

Chloe had ended up at the 'Tranquil Oaks' following a lead for a story. It seemed that over the last two years a series of guests at the spiritual retreat had mysteriously died. Family members and friends of the victims had reported out of character behaviours. After their stay, the former guests just seemed to… 'refuse to life', that had been the way a mother had described it. They refused to eat, drink or even sleep. They'd simply walk around almost blindly, barely saying a word, apathetic to any exterior stimulus. Eventually, they'd ended up in the hospital, but even with expert medical care, they're bodies seemed to reject any form of nourishment and the victims ultimately died of dehydration and inanition.

When Lois left the hospital that morning Chloe was already unconscious and in critical condition.

Shaking away the memory of her cousin laying in a hospital bed hocked up to an IV she continued:

'Something happened to her here and I'm going to figure out what it was. With or without your help.' She added boldly. 'Now, if you'll excuse me I was about to get a room.' Lois started to walk back to the counter, but Clark's hand on her arm stopped her.

'You can't do this. It's too dangerous, like most of your harebrained schemes.'

Tilting her head sideways she gave him a forced smile.

'Then what do you suggest? And don't tell me go home, cause I ain't doing that.' She anticipated his predictable reply.

'I told you. I'll check into the-'

'And I'll stand on the sidelines cheering for my big, strong Alfa male. Oh, let me just get my pompoms!' She mocked waving her hands energetically with invisible pompoms.

'You're just pigheaded, aren't you?'

'And you have to get over this superhero complex. I'm not the one who needs saving here.'

As the two continued to argue, Ruth seemed suddenly interested in the two strangers. Wide-eyed, her gaze alternated from the stone hidden behind the counter to the couple and back. She watched in awe as the small fragment flashed bright red as a clear reaction to the argument taking place.

'_These two are a goldmine._' She thought.

'Fine, we'll both check in.' Clark finally relented.

A victory smile took over her lips.

When Lois stuck something in her head, it was impossible to dissuade her. All one could do was go along for the ride and hope both got out of it unharmed.

'Now, all we have to do is convince old Ruthie there to give us a room.' She tilted her head toward the reception area.

'Two rooms!' Clark quickly corrected.

'Alright, Smallville, don't get frantic. I'm not going to jump your bones in the middle of the night.' Lois assured him as the two walked over to the counter.

'I'll do the talking. Good evening.' Clark started politely.

But before he could go any further Ruth cut him off.

'We have a room.'

'What? I thought you were all booked.' Lois protested.

'We just got a cancellation.' Ruth explained quickly.

'I didn't hear the phone ring.' Lois argued.

'I didn't say that someone phoned to cancel.' Ruth pointed out and before Lois could continue she added: 'It's in lodge C. Come, I'll show you.'

Lois and Clark exchanged frowns and followed the receptionist.

Leaving the main lodge they turned left and entered a smaller one.

'Here we go. This is the living room.' Ruth announced unenthusiastically as they entered the cottage. 'The fireplace isn't working. Something's clogging up the chimney.'

'Probably Santa. Got stuck while rushing to flee this cesspool.' Lois muttered, earning an elbow nudge from Clark.

As a reply she lifted the dust covered index finger she had ran over the kitchen counter. Clark simply rolled his eyes at her and mouthed: '_Be nice._'

In the meantime, Ruth continued oblivious to the two guests.

'This is the kitchenette. Sometimes the sink clogs up too.'

'What a surprise…' Lois mumbled sarcastically.

'You'll be sharing the cabin with the Berkleys.'

Both Clark and Lois frowned at that, but Ruth continued nonchalantly.

'You're room is the one to the right at the top of the stairs. Theirs is the one on the left. Bathroom's the door in the middle.'

'We're sharing the cabin?' Lois started her protest.

'That's what I said.' Ruth grumbled.

'And there's only one bathroom. You're joking, right?'

'Do I look like I'm joking, young lady?' Ruth asked crossing her arms over her chest.

'A-are you sure you don't have another cabin?' Clark intervened, strategically placing himself between the two women when he saw the rage bubbling in Lois' eyes.

'This is all we have, take it or leave it.'

'Well, you can take this cabin and just shove it-'

'We'll take it!' Clark quickly cut her off. 'Thank you.'

'Alright.' Ruth agreed, still eyeing Lois, who looked like she was about to pounce.

There was an uncomfortable silence as the two women engaged in a stare down contest.

'W-we'll just get settled in and I'll meet you at the reception.' Clark stuttered.

Ruth nodded, handing Clark a set of keys before leaving the cottage.

'Are you insane?! Do you know what kind of people stay in these places? The Berkleys are probably axe murderers. I'm not sharing a cabin with them! Not to mention y-chromosome deprived Norman Bates over there.' Lois fumed letting her bag drop onto the couch causing a small cloud of dust to pop up. 'Death by axe cough or couch asphyxia! couch Perfect!'

The corner of Clark's mouth rose for a half smirk as he watched Lois protest her way even through a couching fit.

'Look, I'm not exactly giddy about the whole situation either. But it was the only way.' He argued.

Clark watched as Lois muttered all the way up the stares.

'Oh, great!'

He heard her exclaim and followed her to the first floor of the cottage.

'Guess what?' She asked over shoulder.

'What?'

'There is only one bed.'

The two stood at the doorway staring at the cramped space, furnished with a wooden cupboard, a nightstand table and a double bed.

'Well, we are officially checked in.' He announced as he came back from the main cottage to find her in the kitchenette.

Every single cabinet and drawer was open.

'What are you doing?' He asked frowning and hesitantly leaning over the counter to find her kneeling in front of the sink.

'Looking for clues.' She said seemingly oblivious to him as she continued her search.

'In the kitchen?'

'Been through the bedroom and the bathroom. Kitchen seemed like the next logical step.' She answered offhandedly continuing to rummage through the pots and pans.

'What exactly do you expect to find?' He questioned, sitting at the counter.

'Anything…' She sighed giving up when she didn't find anything remotely incriminating. 'There's nothing here.' She breathed out, putting up both hands in defeat.

'What's this?' He asked when he noticed a series of labelled jars filled with clear liquid.

'Water samples from every faucet in the cabin. I'm going into town tomorrow to get them analyzed.' She explained. 'Maybe it's something in the water... or the food?'

'Maybe.' He agreed. 'Did the Berkleys get here?'

'Nope. I tried getting into their room. It was locked.'

He shook his head at that.

'Don't give me that look.' She warned him coming out from behind the counter to stand in front of him, adopting the growingly familiar stance with her arms crossed.

'Anything on old Ruthie?'

'I don't think she likes you very much.' He smirked.

She, however, ignored it.

'Yeah, I know. There was no way she was letting me stay here and then you show up and suddenly she rolls out the welcoming mat. What was that all about?'

'Maybe it was my overwhelming charm.'

'Yeah, right...' She rolled her eyes. 'Don't get me wrong, Smallville, but she strikes me as more of the Aileen Wuornos predator variety than the Mary Kay Letourneau one. I think you're safe.' She mockingly assured him.

Clapping her hands together she carried on:

'What time do you think she hits the pillows?'

'Who? Ruth?'

She nodded.

'How should I know?' He frowned.

'Small-town folk affinities?'

The confused look remained on Clark's face. Disregarding it, she continued with her musings:

'She probably has to get up really early to chop wood or something, so she should be in bed by nine, huh?'

'Maybe...' Clark reluctantly agreed, watching her pace around in front of him.

'So, around ten, we can go over and check the place out.' She concluded.

Before he could say anything she exclaimed:

'Perfect!' And was making her way up the stairs, the wide grin on her face proof of her satisfaction with the plan she'd devised.

'What about the kitchen?' He yelled out as he turned to see the chaos she had left behind.

He sighed when he heard the door to their bedroom slam shut._ 'Their'_ bedroom. That was another thing they had to figure out he thought as he got up to fix her mess.

'I'm starving.' She groaned pacing around the room, her hand covering her stomach.

'You're the one who didn't want to eat. I told you dinner was served at seven.' He replied from his stop on the bed.

'Are you insane? I'm not eating anything that woman cooks up.' She exclaimed.

'So the plan was to starve yourself to death during your stay here?'

'No… I just… forgot to bring supplies.' She admitted reluctantly. 'God, doesn't that woman sleep?' She practically growled as she looked out their window to find the main cabin's front porch light still on. 'It's almost midnight.'

Clark simply shook his head. She had been nervously pacing around for two hours. It had gotten worst over the last thirty minutes. He smiled to himself when he heard her stomach rumble for the umpteenth time. Standing up he decided:

'I'll go into town and buy something at a 7-eleven.'

'Are you insane? It's a two hour drive to Metropolis.' She pointed out.

Oh, right! He had planed on super speeding into town and had forgotten about the time discrepancy issue.

'Right. Silly me.' He back-pedalled nervously. Reaching for the keys to his truck on the nightstand table he lied: 'I think I've got something to eat in my truck. I'll be right back.'

He left the room with Lois sitting on the windowsill staring intently at the porch light, willing it to turn itself off.

Five minutes later he was back to find her in the same exact position.

'What took you so long?' She asked annoyed, quickly coming over to snatch the plastic bag from his hands.

He rolled his eyes. He could superspeed but it wasn't his fault the teller at the 7-eleven couldn't. He watched as she rummaged through the assortment of goodies he'd bought.

'Oh…um.. thank… um… God!' She was able to say between mouthfuls of a Twinkie bar as she proceeded to raid the bag. 'Twinkies? um Butterfingers?'

Clark couldn't help the smile on his face at the sight of her sitting on the bed, legs crossed, surrounded by chocolates and candy and acting like a giddy kid on Christmas morning. He was startled when she suddenly stopped her frenzy and let out a high-pitched shriek:

'Krispy Kreme doughnuts! Oh, my God!'

She was off the bed and with her arms wrapped around his neck in an instant.

'Thank you!'

Clark's eyes widened and his mouth closed stiffly. His hands oddly hovered around her, undecided on whether to return the unexpected embrace. His heartbeat was racing, he realised. But it seemed to come to a screeching halt at Lois' next move.

He swallowed hard at the feel of her lips on his cheek. Remaining frozen on the spot, he tried desperately not to seem affected by her when she finally let go of him and went back to her chocolaty haven on the bed.

She wasn't usually this affectionate. Actually, he couldn't remember her ever being hands on at all. A friendly punch on the shoulder here and there was the most affection she seemed to be able to show him physically. Well, except that one time, at Chloe's birthday, when she was possessed… or when she was possessed by Dawn. Come to think of it, so far grabby-Lois equalled possessed-Lois.

'Powdered blueberry filled. My favourite!' She yelped hurriedly getting rid of the wrapping and biting into one of them as if her life depended on it.

_ 'I know.'_ He thought to himself. That's what had taken him a while longer.

As she savoured the _delicacy_ she let out a low satisfied mown and closed her eyes**.** Reactively, his widened as the sight and sound of her suddenly sent a rush down his spine.

_ 'What was…_'

'I can't believe… um… you carry all this junk in your car.' She said with her mouth full. 'God, this is sooo good!' This time she actually growled which elicited in yet another gut twisting feeling in him.

_ 'This is so not good.'_ He concluded in his mind**. **_'What's happening? Since when-_?' His thoughts were interrupted by her question.

'Aren't you going to eat?' She took another satisfied bite.

He swallowed dryly.

'I-I'm not that hungry.' He replied, quickly rushing out of the bedroom and into the bathroom.

Lois remained on top of the bed merrily surrounded by heaven.


	2. Chapter 2

Part 2

'Don't you run away from me Frank!'

In the bathroom, Clark jerked up at the bellowing suddenly coming from downstairs, quickly followed by an even louder slamming of the front door.

'I saw you looking at that waitress!'

He could hear two sets of footsteps coming up the stairs.

'Disgusting! She couldn't be a year older than our little Jenny! And you just kept ogling her during the entire dinner!'

'I wasn't ogling.'

By Clark's calculation there were two - a man and a woman - and they were now standing in front of the bathroom door, continuing their argument.

'How could you do that? We came here to fix our marriage and... Arg! You are a despicable man!'

Clark could hear heavy stomping heading in the direction of the Berkleys' bedroom.

'I didn't do anything.' The man defended himself from her accusations.

The voices drifted farther away until the sound of another door being slammed was heard.

Cautiously, Clark peeked into the hallway.

'So those were the Berkleys, huh?'

He was startled by Lois who now stood in front of him, a doughnut still clutched in her hand.

'Very friendly.' She said sarcastically as she moved closer and put her ear up against the door to their room.

'What are you doing?' Clark hissed coming to stand behind her.

'Checking for mold infestations, what does it look like I'm doing, Smallville?'

'You shouldn't be doing that.' He scolded.

She simply rolled her eyes at him. He was about to speak again when Lois' eyes suddenly grew wide and her mouth gained the shape of a perfect 'o'.

'What?' He asked.

'Those two are going to kill each other.' She whispered standing up straight. 'I've heard my share of death threats, but that one just takes the cookie.'

'We better leave.'

'Leave? We have to talk to them. Find out how long they've been here. Check for some of the symptoms.'

'Lois, I don't think they show any sign of lethargy. If anything they seem a little bit too… lively.' Clark noted. 'Wha-?'

He wasn't able to finish his sentence as Lois' free hand came to knock on the door.

Before he could react a very flushed, greatly oversized woman was standing in front of them. Her torso occupied the entire width of the doorframe. Realising she still held a piece of doughnut, Lois strategically hid her right hand behind her back.

'Hi!' Lois replied nervously, having been caught off guard by the sight of the large woman.

Clark, equally shocked, remained behind her, silent, with an awkward smile on his face.

'Who are ya?' The woman barked.

'Lois.' She answered a little too quickly too sound at ease.

When Clark failed to introduce himself she tensely elbowed him in the gut eliciting a grunted:

'Clark Kent.'

'I guess we are going to be cabin-mates during our stay here. Clark and I are staying in the room across the hall.' Lois tried to sound as delightful as possible, intent getting the information she needed.

Achieving that task, however, was becoming increasingly hard considering the fact that her brain seemed completely absorbed in calculating the odds of the woman standing in front of her having a heart attack.

Large was definitely a euphemism when it came to describing Mrs. Berkley. The woman looked like someone out of the Guinness Book of World Records. The fact that she was flushed and out of breath from the fight with her spouse only added to the whole _'I'm about to have a massive coronary look'._

There was an uncomfortable silence between the three of them when Mrs. Berkley failed to make any comment to Lois' small introduction.

Thankfully, an annoyed voice coming from inside the room broke the silence:

'What is it Betty?'

'It's just our new cabin neighbours.' She bellowed back to him.

'At this hour? What the hell do they-' He stopped in mid sentence when he appeared at the door and laid eyes on Lois.

Lois cringed inwardly when she saw him. He and Mrs. Berkley seemed to be a perfect match - at least physically. Now her brain's focus shifted to their children. Considering the gene pool, she feared for them.

She was so absorbed in her musing that she seemed completely oblivious to the lascivious glances Mr. Berkley was throwing in her direction, specially her chest area.

Clark, on the other hand, was very much aware of it. His hands quickly balled up into fists.

'Oh, hello! How very nice to meet you?' His voice was pure saccharine.

He reached for her hand and was awkwardly presented with her left one; the only hand doughnut-free at that moment. He kissed the back off it. Clark stiffened in place while Lois didn't even have the time to protest as Mrs. Berkley's heavy left hand came to smack her husband on the back of the head.

'You pig.' They both heard her grumble under her breath.

Mr. Berkley ignored the remark and introduced himself:

'I'm Frank and this is Betty.'

'Lois.' Tilting her head back toward Clark, Lois added: 'This is Clark.'

Frank dispensed him a quick glance; he sized him up before giving him a meek smile. Clark was barely able to return the gesture.

'Well, Clark and I were just wondering how long you've been here. Is it nice?'

Mr. Berkley gave her a languid smile and was about to reply, when his wife abruptly cut him off.

'We've been here for two day and it sucks. Now if you don't mind we need to sleep. Goodnight.'

Without another word Clark and Lois found themselves faced with a slammed door.

They stood there for a few seconds before Lois turned around to face Clark and quipped:

'And that concludes the Twilight Zone portion of our evening.'

Popping the last bite of her doughnut into her mouth she walked pass him and into their room.

They silently made their way through the moonlit pathway to the main lodge. Coming around the cabin, Lois smiled when she saw the open window.

'Perfect.' She whispered as she walked over, Clark trailing closely behind.

Placing her hands on the ledge she pushed herself up until her stomach was resting on the wooden structure. Realising her intentions, Clark reached to help her. A deep frown immediately settled over her brow when she felt his hands on her hips.

'What are you doing?' She hissed over her shoulder from her awkward position bent over the edge of the windowsill; her upper body was halfway inside the house while her legs dangled in midair.

Clark looked up at her with a baffled look in his eyes.

'What?' He mouthed.

She shot a murderous glance toward her hips, pointing out the hazardous location of his hands. Instantly, he pulled away; hands up in sign of surrender.

He shook his head as he waited for her to enter the cabin.

She was patting the dust off of her jeans and taking in her new surroundings when a loud thud broke the silence.

Looking down, she found Clark on the floor – left leg propped high on the windowsill, his jeans caught on a loose nail.

'Would it kill you to be a little stealthier, Smallville?' Lois whispered towering over him as he fumbled onto his feet.

'My jeans got-' He tried to explain but she shushed him when she heard the distinct sound of footsteps coming from the ceiling.

'Great job. You woke her up.' She murmured. 'Hide.'

The two quickly scanned the room trying to find a convenient hiding place.

The room clearly served as an office. It was furnished with a large bookcase that occupied the entire right wall and served to make the minute space even more claustrophobic. The only other pieces of furniture were an old mahogany desk placed in front of the window and facing the door on the opposite side of the room and two wooden chairs positioned on either side of the desk.

Nervously eyeing each other, both glanced at the table seeing it as the only possible safe haven. Without a word both quickly scrambled under it but, though it was a large desk, it still was not large enough to properly accommodate two people.

_'Specially not when one of them is an oversized __ Kansas farm boy.'_ Lois mentally noted as she desperately tried to find a comfortable position.

'Will you just move you arm, Smallville?' She grumbled in a low voice.

All she could see were limbs; too many of them for such a cramped up space.

'If you move your leg.' He retorted.

Lois felt her stomach crunch as the sound of footsteps travelling down the stairs grew louder.

'Just move, already.' She hissed out the order just as the door to the office opened.

The two froze in they uncomfortable position.

Clark was half-sitting, half-laying on his back, his head lodged in the inner corner of the desk and both hands propped up against the top. Lois's situation wasn't any better. She was hunched, hovering over Clark, her back up against the top of the desk, one hand on the floor, the other resting on his chest for support while she straddle his right leg.

They remained perfectly still as a light was switched on and someone entered the room.

Under her hand she could feel his heartbeat racing a mile a minute, much like her own but, that moment, her every sense was focussed on the sounds coming from the other side of the wooden structure that concealed their presence.

'Nathaniel? Is that you?' Ruth's groggy voice was heard.

There was no answer.

After a second footsteps echoed once more in the silent room. They were coming closer.

Clark felt Lois' hand fist his shirt. Looking up his eyes met hers. Her pupils were expanded to the extent that the hazel in her iris was reduced to thin ring around the black circle.

She glanced to her left, just in time to see Ruth's feet as she came around the desk and stood in front of the window. That was it. All she had to do was turn around and look down and they would be caught.

Clark watched as fear took over her expression. They waited anxiously while Ruth continued to simply stand there. One, two, five minutes went by and Lois began to feel the sting in her muscles. Her arms started to quiver, ready to give out from under her.

There was a mixture of fear and anger bubbling inside of her. What the hell was Ruth doing? Enjoying the midnight air? She felt a single drop of sweat travelled down her back as the muscles in her arms neared exhaustion. She couldn't hold on anymore. Any second now she would fall on top of Clark and in the processes reveal their presence. She squeezed her eyelids shut, trying to sum up what was left of her strength.

Her eyes snapped open when she suddenly felt a pair hands on her forearms holding her up. Her gaze locked with Clark's.

A rush of relief flooded her when she was finally able to relax her muscles.

_ 'Are you ok?'_

She read his lips and nodded her reply adding a small smile.

In the meantime, Ruth seemed to have grown bored of the view. They listened as she closed the window and turned to leave. Holding their breaths, they huddled under the desk as she walked around it and toward the door.

Lois was about to breathe a sigh of relief when the ringing of the phone abruptly reverberated in the quiet room.

Ruth walked back into the room and picked up the phone.

'Hello?'

_ 'Will this torment ever end?'_ Lois wondered.

Clark felt as if a cluster of ants were crawling under his skin as his right leg, trapped under Lois' weight, grew numb. He had to move. Holding his breath and using the fact that Ruth was currently distracted with the phone conversation he started to shift.

Lois nearly choked when she suddenly felt his leg move between hers; a recognizable and unexpected electric current instantly spread through her entire body, causing her to gasp. She swallowed hard and tried to ignore the feeling, but as Clark moved his leg up once more and sent another rush through her she let out a low moan.

Their eyes widened at the surprising sound.

Their gazes locked once again and she could tell he was completely ignorant of the effect his actions were having.

_ 'Thank God.'_

What was she trying to do, get them caught? Clark wondered.

Thankfully, Ruth was so absorbed in her conversation she didn't notice.

In the meantime, Lois tried to get a grip on herself. She slowed down her breathing in a pathetic attempt to decelerate her erratic pulse but, for some reason, she was now acutely aware of their proximity, completely aware of every inch of her body that was in contact with his.

_ 'Too close.'_

His scent, which she now realised she was very familiar with, surrounded her. It was the same as the one on his flannel shirt. The one she used occasionally as a pyjama during her stay at the Kents.

On impulse, she closed her eyes and inhaled. As she took in the smell she noted that she really liked it. Her eyebrows furrowed at that realisation.

'Oh my God, I'm sniffing Smallville.' She discovered in shock.

Looking up she found Clark frowning up at her and realised that he had been watching her reactions (her probably very odd reactions) for the last couple of minutes.

When he made an attempt to move again she shot him a homicidal look.

_ 'Will you stop moving, dammit?'_ She mouthed, the embarrassment causing the anger to rise up inside of her.

_ 'What?'_ He replied soundlessly with a puzzled look on his face.

Gripping his shirt in her fist again she repeated:

_ 'Stop. Moving. Or. I. Will. Kill. You._' She widened her eyes at the last two words for emphasis.

He swallowed dryly; his eyebrows coming together high on his forehead for his trademark _ 'dear caught in the headlight_' look.


	3. Chapter 3

**Part 3**

_ 'Just focus Lois.'_ She mentally coxed herself. _ 'It's just Smallville.'_

Closing her eyes, she inhaled deeply and tried to centre her attention on the conversation taking place on the other side of the desk.

Slowly, she felt herself unwind and she smiled inwardly.

She welcomed the relief as it washed over her, the sense of control returning.

Clark watched her intensely. She was flushed, her breaths coming in short and erratic pants. He noticed the change in her breathing as she closed her eyes and calmed herself.

He felt her fisted hand loosen up to simply press against his chest. Swallowing dryly he continued his scrutiny of her face, focussing on her partially opened mouth. He'd never noticed it until now, but her lips were-

_ 'Stop it._' He censured himself.

Feeling that she was calm enough she opened her eyes and meet his.

_ 'See? It's just Smallville.'_ She told herself. _'Good old, harmless __ Clark Kent.'_

Somehow, her body didn't seem to want to follow her minds reasoning that the man – _'Boy.' _She corrected mentally- that the _boy_ currently trapped under her was harmless_._

_ 'Nope, definitely not following the reasoning here!' _ She scolded her traitorous form when she felt a cold swarm of butterflies upset her stomach.

He was too close. That was it! This was probably a strange side effect of claustrophobia.

_ 'You're not claustrophobic.'_ Her brain told her.

The knots in her stomach tightened at the feel of his breath on her neck.

_ 'Well, I am now!'_ She decided shaking her head and in the process causing her bangs to fall onto her eyes.

She squinted as an exasperating string of hair found its way in front of her left eye. When squinting didn't solve the issue she resorted to lightly shaking her head. She was afraid to blow the hair out of her eye and break the silence.

His hand was on her forehead pushing the annoying fringe away before she could signal him to do so.

She gave him a forced smile as thank you but not two seconds later the hair was back. She rolled her eyes and her lips pressed together tightly in annoyance.

Clark once again came to her aid but the hair was unrelenting. Grinning Clark decided it was best to keep his hand on her temple for a few seconds in the hopes that the hair would hold in place. The butterflies in Lois' stomach seemed to go on overdrive at the sight of his goofy, sideway smile.

He stared openly up at her, his grin freezing as he became caught in the moment. He didn't remember ever feeling this nervous; a lump grew in his throat when his body began to move, seemingly of its own accord.

She could feel his heart under her hand. It pounded at a frantic pace, just like hers.

_ 'Not good, not good!'_ Her brain screamed the mantra as she watched him leaning in closer bringing his face a mere inch from hers.

_ 'Do something!_' She willed her body into action but it didn't respond.

'I told you I didn't have time yet!'

Ruth's heated reply into the phone served to snap them out of their shared daze.

His lingering fingers hastily abandoned her skin leaving her bangs fixed in place. Their gazes awkwardly bounced off every surface as they desperately tried to avoid eye contact.

'We have two new guests. They're a goldmine.' There was a moment of pause before she sighed: 'I'm telling you they are perfect. They'll more than compensate for what we lost.'

Clark finally decided to listen in on the conversation, maybe it would help to get his mind off the fact that not two seconds ago he was about to kiss Lois Lane!

_ 'Are you sure? Your last pickings were really slim. We barely got an ounce out of them.'_

It was a male voice.

'The Berkleys are being more productive. They should be done in two days.'

_ 'What about the new ones?'_

'Don't know yet. Tonight.'

_ 'Ok. I'll be back in the morning.'_

And with that the conversation was over and once again Clark's attention drifted to the semi-brunette straddling his leg.

He mimicked her actions when their gazes met and she instantly averted her eyes.

Lois attempted to focus on Ruth; she was still in the room.

_ 'Why isn't she leaving? Just leave already!'_ She demanded as she desperately tried to find something to look at.

_ 'Something other than Clark's face..._ _ his mouth... jaw...'_ without knowing her eyes followed the itinerary echoing in her mind. _'or his neck..._ _his chest...'_ She swallowed hard and shook herself out of her spellbinding state, settling her stare on the bottom of the desktop. Though definitely not as interesting, it was safe.

Clark seemed to be going through the same torment. The truth was that from his position, Lois occupied most of the view which made avoiding her kind of... impossible. Plus, his leg was starting to get numb once again.

They both sighed in relief when Ruth finally seemed to be moving toward the door. The lights were turned off and the room was engulfed in an assortment of hues and ebony darkness as she closed the door behind her.

They remained in the dim lit room, waiting to make sure Ruth had left.

'I think she's gone.' Clark was the one who broke the silence.

Lois nodded and began to move. The two fumbled their way out from under the desk, awkwardly trying to avoid any extra physical contact.

An uncomfortable silence settled between the two as they clumsily stood there, nervously evading each other's gaze.

'We better get back to our cabin.' Clark whispered breaking the painful stillness.

'What? What about-' She began to protest.

'You heard her. It's tonight. I guess all we have to do is sit in our bedroom and wait.' Clark argued reaching for the window.

Eager to bring an end to the entire situation Lois reluctantly agreed following him out the window.

Entering the cabin they mutely made their way up the stairs and into the bedroom. Clark closed the door behind him. Trying to postpone the inevitable discussion regarding the sleeping arrangements he busied himself by fumbling with the light switch for a couple of seconds before turning it on.

Lois, on the other hand, was suddenly fascinated with the zipper of her jacket.

After a few seconds of stillness they both decided to ignore the issue at hand by going about their bedtime routine.

Lois made the first move, fishing out her pyjamas and heading for the bathroom.

Letting out a breath he didn't know he was holding, Clark let his body drop onto the bed. He laid there, eyes closed, drifting between slumber and awareness until Lois walked back in.

'Bathroom's free.' She announced offhandedly.

Nodding, he got up, walked over to his own bag when he froze realising - he didn't wear pyjamas. He didn't even own pyjamas.

_ 'Great.'_

'Clark?'

He turned to face her quizzical stare.

'You ok?'

'Fine.' He replied, picking a t-shirt and a pair of boxers and leaving the room.

Five minutes later he was back.

'Dibs the window side.' She blurted from her spot on the bed just as he entered the room.

While he had been away she had argued with herself and decided it was ridiculous to feel self-conscious about sleeping in the same bed as Clark. It was Smallville! Just Smallville.

An image flashed in her mind - his lopsided smile as he held her hair in place.

_ 'And there go the butterflies.'_ She noted in her mind, muttering under her breath: 'Oh, I'm definitely getting rid of the bangs.'

'You can have the whole thing.'

Clark's reply snapped her out of her thoughts and she turned to see him reaching for his pillow.

'I'm sleeping on the floor.'

'You're joking right?' She asked raising her left eyebrow. 'This is not the 19th century, Smallville. We can sleep in the same bed.'

She watched as he opened the wardrobe in search for an extra set of sheets.

'Smallville?'

He let his shoulders slump when he failed to find what he was searching for.

'As much as I would love the extra legroom, the bed is big enough for the two of us. You can save the gallantry.'

Turning to face her he smirked and dropped the cushion.

'Night, Lois.' He said lying down on the floor pillow.

'Oh, this is ridiculous.' She muttered under her breath, crawling over to the other side of the bed to find him fluffing up his.

'Will you just stop being ridiculous and just come to bed?'

Clark lazily opened one eye and looked up at her; her head popping out from the side of the mattress.

'Goodnight, Lois.' He repeated before closing his eye and turning on his side.

'Fine. If that's the way you want it.' He heard her grumble.

She didn't really know why she was insisting. Normally she would simply shrug and go to sleep. As long as she was comfortable, it was fine by her. But something in Clark's demeanour made it an issue. What was she? Some sort of pathetic, virginal damsel in distress whose chastity would be forever tarnished if they were to sleep in the same bed? She was his equal, dammit, and if he was going to sleep on the floor, so was she!

She threw her cushion on the ground, by the window, and dropped to the floor.

'Lois?'

He forced himself to sit up. She wasn't on the bed. Frowning, he climbed on the mattress to find her laying on her back, hands crossed over her chest and eyes closed.

'What are you doing?' He asked.

'Trying to sleep.' She shushed him with a wave of her hand.

'I see that. Why are you on the floor?' He continued his inquiry.

'I figured since you were on the floor it was probably more comfortable.' She mocked, her eyes still closed.

She heard him sigh.

'Lois, just go to bed.'

She didn't budge.

'Lois...'

Nothing. He felt the anger start to twitch inside of him.

'Lois.'

Not even a squint from her and the anger bubbled further to the surface.

'Lois, will stop being so pigheaded?' He finally growled.

When there was no answer the rage took over his body. Before she could realise what was happening, Lois found herself being picked up off the floor.

'What the _ hell_ are you doing, Smallville?' She yelped her hands instantly reaching for his t-shirt for balance.

He didn't say a thing, simply took a step forward and plopped her on the bed.

She lay there, shocked, the mattress still bouncing slightly under her. Looking up he towered over her.

'Go to sleep.' He warned, picking up her pillow and tossing it in her direction before coming around the bed to lie on the floor.

After the initial surprise came the sting of a bruised ego. Narrowing her eyes in a combination of anger and rebelliousness she flung the pillow back to the floor and returned to her previous spot. Groaning Clark was up and standing in front of her in a second.

Anticipating his move she sat up, hugging her pillow protectively with one hand, while the other pointed a defiant finger up at him, she spoke:

'Look, Smallville, we can do this all night, believe me, I've got the stamina for it. I really don't care.' She added a shrug for good measure.

Engaging in a stare down contest they remained silent for a couple of seconds before Clark let out a reluctant:

'Fine.'

God, she was stubborn!

He dragged himself around the bed and picked up the pillow putting it up against the headboard on what was now his side of the bed.

Lois eyed him suspiciously standing up and mimicking his motions. She still wasn't convinced she'd won. She watched as he plopped his body on top of the sheets; the structure under him creaking at the sudden burden. Pulling at the covers she finally slipped under them.

After five seconds she whined.

'Could you turn off the lights?'

Inhaling sharply, Clark stood up and did as he was asked and then stomped his way back to the bed.

'Thanks. Goodnight, Smallville.' Lois said gingerly.

'Goodnight, Lois.' Clark muttered.

So engrossed had the two been in their argument, both had failed to notice when the air conditioning was automatically turned on during their altercation. Slowly, the colourless smoke filtered into the air, flooding the room while the two lay in bed.


	4. Chapter 4

**Part 4**

She couldn't sleep. Reaching for her cell phone she pressed a random key and the screen immediately lit up. It was four thirty in the morning.

Rolling onto her back she let out a sigh. For the umpteenth time that night she found her gaze drifting toward the figure lying next to her and felt an icy flutter in her stomach; her heartbeat picking up speed.

She squeezed her eyes shut; willing the feeling away, but every time she looked at him it came back with doubled intensity. What was happening to her?

_ 'Just don't look at him.'_ She decided, but before she could stop herself her eyes drifted back to the apparently slumbering figure.

She gritted her teeth in frustration, her hand coming to cover her upset stomach.

Between wondering what old Ruthie had in store for them and the pathological Clark ogling she was never going to fall a sleep.

He had given up on waiting for Ruth's move, figuring that she had probably postponed whatever she had planed for them. But still he could not sleep.

He laid on his side, his back to her. He had decided that that was the only position that gave him at least a faint probability of getting some shuteye.

He was wrong. Two hours had gone by and he was still acutely aware of her every move. Her breathing echoed in his ears along with her heartbeat.

Plus the stupid t-shirt wasn't helping either. He was burning up. He pulled at the fabric that insisted on clinging to his chest.

He frowned when he felt the regular thumping skip a beat and accelerate. It was the sixth time that night. Her breathing became shallower and then he felt the weight behind him shift.

For some reason she couldn't sleep either. He figured it was because of Ruth.

Taking a deep breath, he closed his eyes, trying desperately to stop his senses from being so attune to her.

Caught somewhere between slumber and semi-consciousness she turned in her sleep.

Clark on the other hand was wide awake, staring at the ceiling. It was five thirty and by now he was simply waiting for the time to get up.

'Nope.' He muttered in a low voice. 'No sleep tonight.'

He felt her stir beside him, but he kept his gaze locked on the ceiling.

This entire night had been a torment. And he just wanted it to end.

For some reason, throughout the night, it had become increasingly hard to keep his mind off the feisty brunette lying beside him. The last half hour, right about the time she had fallen asleep, had been particularly hard. Knowing that she wasn't aware of his action made him more daring and less prone to resist the urge to stare at her.

She moved again, clearly overstepping the boundaries that separated her side of the bed from his.

His held his breath in anticipation when he felt her nuzzle her face against his shoulder, her hand coming to wrap itself around his arm and use it as her own personal pillow.

A strange clam washed over her; the incessant rumbling inside of her chest subsiding.

He swallowed dryly, his brow high on his forehead as he looked at her sideways, not daring to move, not even his neck. If she woke up at that moment he just knew she would find a way to blame him, even thought she was the one currently clutching his arm.

His eyes widened at her next move, gasping when her leg rubbed up against his before slipping over it, effectively trapping him.

He was in trouble.

She moaned.

'_Deep trouble!'_ He noted seeing the smile on her lips.

He was faced with a dilemma. The way he saw it he had two options. The first and most obvious was to wake her up and put an end to the snugfest. The downside was suffering the wrath of Lois Lane.

_ 'Not an option at all.'_ He decided on the spot.

Or… alternative number two – slide.

He took door number two. Slowly, he began to glide sideways, away from her but apparently Lois held a death grip on him and was simply dragged along with him.

Inhaling, he tried again and once more they moved as a unit, lagging the bed sheets with them. He tried one more time and the result was the same. She seemed to be glued to him.

And now, he found, he had another little problem - he had just run out of mattress and his right shoulder was sticking out of the side of the bed.

'Great...' He mumbled trying to keep his balance.

Maybe if he just stayed still, she would budge. He waited a couple of minutes and she finally did move, except it wasn't exactly what he had wished for. Instead of rolling to her other side, she slid closer to him, her nose finding the perfect nook in the warm angle between his clavicle and his neck.

She breathed, her lips lightly brushing against his collarbone and he felt his stomach suddenly spasm; a sweltering pulse quickly making its way south. His mouth fell open to let out a guttural half-mewl, half-gasp.

He didn't know how to describe it. He'd never actually made that sound before. But, to be honest, he had never felt that before either so... It kind of made sense that it would elicit an original response from his body - the same body that seemed to be rapidly developing a mind of its own.

All he could think about was running his fingers through her hair and bringing her lips to his own. Consequences be dammed! The image of him flipping them over and pinning her to the mattress under his weight as he assaulted her mouth caused another onslaught of the newly discovered sensation.

Her smile widened as the dream in her mind became increasingly vivid. It actually felt like she was sliding her hand under the hem of his t-shirt; probing fingers exploring the taut muscles underneath.

A part of her brain was still screaming at her that this was wrong. Wrong! But she dismissed it. She knew that she would simply repress the memory once she'd woken up.

It wouldn't be the first time she did it.

Ever since she'd first seen him in all his naked glory, these fantasies had occupied most of her reveries but once she was awake they would be neatly tucked away in her subconscious so she could merrily go on with her daily routine of annoying and being annoyed by Clark, blissfully unaware of her perverse attraction to flannel-boy. So, it was ok to indulge in the dream. God knew she deserved it after the torment under the table!

Wrapped up in the fantasy and in the exploration of original sensations, his mind gladly accepted the feel of her hand brushing against his stomach, not processing it as part of reality but as another technicoloured side of the fantasy.

Her fingers ventured south, slipping under the waistband of his boxer shorts and suddenly the fantasy became a little too lifelike for Clark.

Snapping his eyes open, the restrained part of his brain overrode the autopilot sequence his body seemed to be in, causing it to jolt, shocking Lois out of her dream in the process.

Just as it was getting interesting she was jerked into consciousness.

Opening her eyes she was greeted with the sight of her hand caught halfway down someone's boxers. Craning her neck up she found that someone was non other than Clark Kent, who was staring down at her wide-eyed.

Caught in the faint instant in which she was completely aware her not so innocent feelings for Clark and the intense need to repress that bit of information her brain reacted the only way it knew – attack!

'What the HELL are you doing, Smallville?' She yelled violently shoving him away and causing him to lose balance, clumsily topple over the side of the bed and plop on the floor with a loud thud.

In the darkened room, he quickly stumbled over the sheet that was twisted around him while he clumsily tried to stand up.

'Just what did you think you were doing?' She repeated, angrily yanking the sheet from under his feet causing him to stagger and almost fall over again.

'I-I didn't-' He stuttered, trying to get rid of the fabric that remained persistently tangled around his legs while she simultaneously pulled at it. 'I didn't- I- Will you just stop pulling at it for a second!' He snapped stomping his foot and looking up at her.

Reluctantly, she did as he requested. After a couple of seconds he was free and she swiftly jerked the rest of the sheet up onto the bed and protectively wrapped it around her chest like a bath towel.

Lifting her chin defiantly she stared daggers at him as she waited for his answer.

'I didn't do anything!' He was finally able to say.

'Oh, right!' She huffed sardonically blowing her bangs out of her eyes.

'I didn't!' He insisted squinting as he tried to read her expression in the dark.

'You didn't? So I guess-'

She choked in mid sentence when the light was flipped on.

Lois felt her stomach turn. Why did he do that? This was hard enough without having to see his face. Inhaling deeply she continued:

'I guess I just miraculously ended up, er… up… Were I was!' She finally blurted out awkwardly.

'Actually, no.' He mockingly agreed. 'You slid to my side of the bed and nuzzled up against-'

'I was asleep!' She cut him off, standing up on the bed; the height difference giving her confidence a boost. 'I can't be held responsible for what I do in my sleep!' She argued.

'But I can?' He questioned tilting his head sideways and raising his brow.

Seeing the blunt error in her reasoning she faltered in her finger pointing, but not for long. Hauling the sheet along with her she stomped her way off the bed.

'This is all your fault.' She muttered passing in front of him.

'My fault?! I wasn't the one who insisted on sharing the bed.' He pointed out.

She ignored him, making her way out of the room, dragging the sheet along.

'And I definitely wasn't the one who couldn't stay on his side of the bed.'

She stopped dead in her tracks and he knew he had just signed his death sentence.

Why couldn't he just keep his mouth shut? It was almost over. A bit of yelling, a little shouting, not too many death stares from Lois and it was almost done. It had actually been quite painless. They could have simply ignored it and moved on. But no! His stupid mouth just had to go off on him.

'_Idiot!_' His brain screamed at him as he watched her turn around to face him, a murderous glare in her eyes.

He swallowed hard.

'I was asleep!' She narrowed her eyes at him as she closed the distance between them.

'S-so was I!' He lied backing up.

'It's not like I wanted t-to…' Her gaze instinctively dropped to his crotch, but quickly retuned to his face.

Clark's cheeks quickly gained a faint reddish tone.

'I would _ never_ in a million years. _Ever._ Actually want to do that!' She added uncomfortably: 'With you.'

He felt a sting in his chest. It instantly triggered the defensive scoff:

'Like I would ever want anything with you either.'

'No, I guess you're too busy Lana-brooding.' She retorted.

'I do not brood!'

'Oh, come on! You're mope-guy!'

'I'm what?'

'Mope-guy, as in a guys who spends his-'

'I know what you meant.' He cut her off. 'At least I'm not going around jumping innocent people in their sleep.'

'I did _not_ jump you!' She shouted. 'And I don't seem to remember you trying to stop me, Mr. _I was asleep_.'

'I-I… I was shocked.' He stammered nervously.

She tilted her head sideways and gave him a mock smile.

'I'd just woken up with your hand down-'

Her hand was on his mouth in a second.

'One more word, Smallville, and you'll find yourself singing soprano for the next three days!' She threatened widening her eyes at him.

He quickly nodded.

They stared at each other in silence, her fingers lingering a couple of seconds longer than absolutely necessary. Realising it she hastily dropped the hand from his mouth, her gaze falling to the floor.

Brushing her bangs away from her eyes, she turned around to leave, but stopped in her stride to face him. Her index finger pointed at him accusingly.

'I did _not_ jump you.' She hissed clenching her jaw.

He nodded vehemently.

'I was asleep.' She repeated taking a step closer.

Another wide-eyed nod.

'I-I was probably dreaming.' She reasoned with another step finally closing the distance between them. 'Not about you!' She added quickly.

'Of course!' He agreed instantly.

'Cause I would _never_…' She trailed off with a forced chuckle.

'In a million years. We've established that.' He noted locking his jaw.

'Good!' She exhaled in relief and put on her toothy smile. 'Now that we've got that out of the way… We can go back to normal.'

There was an uncomfortable silence between the two. Their gazes seemed to bounce off the walls as they tried to avoid each other.

'Well…' She started, getting back on the bed. 'Let's see if we can get some sleep.'

Clark simply stood there.

'Smallville?' She called when he didn't follow her lead.

He looked at her sitting on the bed, still clinging to the sheets, looking up at him.

After all that had just happen did she really expect him to go back to bed?

'It's six in the morning. Not really a lot of time to sleep.' He came up with the perfect excuse.

'We've still got at least two hours. I'm not getting up at six in the morning. Now go to sleep, Smallville.' She ended the discussion fluffing up her pillow before resting her head on it with a thud.

'I-I better…' He hesitated.

It wasn't over, she realised. He was afraid she was going to jump him.

'_I did not jump him!_' She screamed in her head.

'That's it!' She snapped jumping off the bed and coming to stand in front of him. 'For the ten millionth time: I was asleep! Dreaming!' She yelled pocking her finger into his chest. 'I would never want anything with you! You're too grumpy, you brood all the time, your favourite pastime is wallowing in self-pity-'

His eyes widened at her accusations and he began his own rant with equal fervour:

'Yeah? Well, you're bossy! You never apologise.'

'And you apologise too much, Smallville. God, it's like everything that's wrong with the world is your fault!' She pointed out with a loud sigh.

'You talk too much!' He snapped at her. 'You're physically incapable of going one minute without saying something.'

'You don't talk enough! You keep everything bottled up inside. Pretending that _ everything_ is just peachy in la-la land.' She ridiculed rolling her eyes at him.

'And you just keep blurting everything out, don't you?'

'I say what's on my mind.' She defended herself.

'Ever think that some people don't want to know what's in there.'

'You're a boy scout.' She retorted snootily.

'You're arrogant!'

'Self-righteous!'

'Conceited!'

'Repressed!'

'Repressed?' He looked at her in shock.

She nodded.

'Me?'

'You never do what you really want to do.' She raised her chin high looking defiantly up at him.

He towered over her, staring straight at her.

He knew exactly what he wanted at that moment. That feeling, breaking out chaos in his stomach, hadn't stopped since the beginning of the argument. It was the reason why he'd hesitated to return to bed.

Not out of embarrassment or the awkwardness of it, but fear of just what he might do if she were to accidentally brush up against him in her sleep.

Yes, she was right. He knew exactly what he wanted at that moment and he wasn't going to do anything about it.

He swallowed hard, his eyes dropping to her lips and then back up to meet her flaming stare.

That's when he saw it! His inner turmoil reflected in her eyes.

'Neither do you…' The words were out of his mouth as realisation settled in.

Her eyes grew at his sharp remark, just before breaking eye contact.

'W-what are you talking about?' She choked out burying her gaze on the floor. 'I do whatever I want.' She scoffed with a frown.

'No, you don't.' He insisted, trying to control the suffocating combination of simultaneous calm and exhilaration that made his heart race.

'I do to.' She was starting to get annoyed at his accusation. That's how she saw it – an accusation.

'Ok. Then what do you want?'

'Me?' She tried to stall as her brain frantically searched for a more suitable answer than – you.

He waited for her reply.

'I-I want…' There was a pause before she blurted: 'To figure out just what psycho-lady did to Chloe and save her.'

If she could she would pat herself in the back. It was the perfect save.

'No.'

His reply cut her celebration short.

'What do you mean no?'

'What do you want now?'

'Now?' She furrowed her brow at him as if he was insane.

'Yes, right now!' He sighed in frustration.

'I-I don't want anything.'

Why was she stuttering? She never stuttered. He was making her stuttered and she hated him for it. She was the one who was supposed to make him uncomfortable and turn him into a stammering idiot not the other way around.

'I want this conversation to be over.' She stated matter-of-factly, finally meeting his gaze. 'I'm going to bed.'

She made a move toward the bed but was halted by Clark's hand on her forearm.

Her stare dropped accusingly to his fingers and then back up at him.

_ What are you doing?_

'What are you doing?' Lois voiced out the question on his mind.

She put on a frown, trying to mask the anxiety that bounded her chest and made it hard to breathe. But he could easily pick up the frenzied pounding of her heart.

'Smallville?'

She let out an annoyed sigh in a frustrated attempt to appear unaltered.

'I'm tired and sleepy and-' She stifled back the words when a swift jerk of his hand brought her stumbling to his chest.

It felt like his heart was trying to pound its way out of him and all the while his mind yelled at him to stop.

She swallowed hard as she noticed his wide-eyed gaze fixed on her mouth.

'Clark? What are you-'

In one fluid motion, his free hand settled on the crook of her neck, tilting her head upwards as he bent down to capture her lips.


	5. Chapter 5

Part 5

She froze at first, caught off guard by his unexpected move. It didn't last for more than a second.

Out of its own accord and completely disregarding the annoying voice in the back of her mind her mouth responded to his.

She pressed her lips against his with almost bruising force, letting out a moan when she felt his tongue brush against them. Instinctively, she parted her mouth giving him access to deepen the kiss. She fisted her hand in his t-shirt when their tongues met; the butterflies in her stomach making her light-headed.

Restless to have her nearer, he let his hand drop from her forearm wrapping it around her waist and bringing her body flush against his.

Forced onto the tip off her toes, with her back arched to the limit, she moved against him with matching passion. Their movements were frenzied, their mouths ravenously battling for dominance, mimicking their previous fight and drawing harsh, muffled breaths that seemed deafening in the silent room.

She had one hand trapped between their bodies, clutching at the fabric of his t-shirt, but the other was free to roam and it found its way to the nape of his neck; her fingers digging a path through his dishevelled hair frantically trying to bring them closer. He groaned into her mouth and she made a mental note that he liked that.

Tightening his grip around her waist he effortlessly picked her up, causing her to gasp when her feet failed to touch the floor. It felt like she was flying. It felt… amazing!

BANG!

The loud metallic sound crashed its way into the silent room jolting them apart.

Abruptly, Lois found herself with her feet planted on the floor. She was extremely shaky and unbalanced, her breathing coming in throaty gasps as she stared back at an equally winded Clark.

_ 'You two-faced son of a whore!'_

It took a few seconds for Lois' hazed mind to identify the voice as belonging to Mrs. Berkley.

'_You suffocating piranha!' _

Mr. Berkley, it seemed, was yelling back.

Awkwardly, they stood there, breathless and looking at each other; the only thing breaking the overwhelming silence coming from the Berkleys' room.

'I-I'm sorry!' He finally spoke, his brows coming together high on his forehead for an apologetic look. 'I don't know what-'

_ 'I'm going to kill you!'_ Mrs Berkley shouted.

There was another loud bang followed by an almost inhuman cry.

_ 'I'll show you!'_

Clark let out an annoyed sigh. Did they have to fight now?

Lois' eye widened at the sounds coming from across the hall. Eager to postpone indefinitely the conversation with Clark she made her choice.

'We better check on them.'

'What? Lois! Don't-' He stopped in mid sentence when he realised she was already halfway out the door.

Knowing her, there was no other option than to follow her.

'Lois, I really don't think-'

He sighed once again in frustration when she knocked on the Berkleys' door.

When there was no answer other than the noise of escalating conflict she turned the knob to reveal a war zone.

The nightstand was turned over with its contents scattered all over the floor, right next to what seemed like the top of a nightstand light. Directing her attention to the source of the commotion she found the bottom, metallic half in Mrs. Berkley's hand, right about to be swung at her husband who was cowering in the corner between the wall and the bed.

The woman was insane. She was going to kill him!

Lois frowned when Betty suddenly dropped the object to cling to her hand, howling in pain at the same time as she puffed at the open palm.

'What was that?' She voiced out the question in her head.

'I don't know.' Clark lied, adding a shrug for authenticity.

Sensing his opportunity to strike back, Frank hauled his heavy body back into a standing position. His large hands were tightly wrapped around his wife's neck in a heartbeat.

'I'll show you who's the impotent fart, you old hag!' He yelled ringing her neck fiercely.

Lois and Clark stormed into the room as Betty's skin complexion rapidly gained an unhealthy shade of purple.

'You gigantic sack of sh-'

'I'll get her, you get him!' Lois shouted over Mr. Berkley's colourful swearing, running towards the large woman.

Lois tried to pull Betty away from Frank. They didn't budge.

It took Clark less than a second to dislodge the death grip Frank held on his wife's neck. As a result of the sudden loss of contact and Lois' continued pulling, a very woozy Betty tipped over coming down on the smaller woman with a large thud.

'Lois, are you alright?!' She heard Clark's concerned voice as she crawled her way from under the massive Betty.

'Do I' _gasp_ 'look' _pant_ 'alright, Smallville?' She managed to draw out.

'You pa-' _ cough_ 'thetic excuse' _cough_ 'for a man!'

Lois' attention was drawn to Betty as she huffed her way back on both feet. Before she could react, the woman hurled herself in the direction of her husband, successfully sandwiching him between herself and Clark, who now laid on the bed, trapped under the two homicidal neighbours.

'Clark!' Lois screamed immediately coming to his aid.

She frantically pulled at Betty's flower patterned muumuu to no avail.

'Get off of him, you fat cow!' She inhaled sharply, pulling harder while Betty continued to strike at Frank, smacking Clark a couple of times in the process, leaving him stunned.

Realising she wasn't getting anywhere with the deranged woman, she reached for what was left of the nightstand light and bashed it against Betty's head, instantly rendering her unconscious.

Moving hurriedly she pushed her off of the two men, reaching Frank and dismissively rolling him over to find Clark.

'Are you ok?'

Still a bit disoriented, he looked up; a worried Lois looked down at him.

He managed to nod affirmatively sitting up.

'Psycho!' Lois muttered glancing at the unconscious Betty.

Dropping the lamp on the floor she turned her attention back to Clark.

'Are you sure you're ok?'

'I'm fine.' Clark guaranteed, looking up at her.

The knot formed instantly in her stomach and she hurriedly diverted her gaze. Feeling the same uneasiness, he mirrored her actions, his stare dropping to the floor.

In the meantime, Frank seemed to recompose himself from the thrashing he'd just received. A bit confused he looked around. His objective quickly returned to mind when his eyes settled on the knocked-out Betty lying on the bed next to him. Ignoring the intruders in his room, he stood up while Lois and Clark eyed him suspiciously. What the hell was he up to?

It became perfectly clear when he bent down and reached for the lamp.

'Hey!' Clark and Lois cried out in unison.

Clark quickly snatched the metallic object from the man's hand. But Frank seemed hell bent on finishing the job, even if it meant doing it with his bare hands. Realising he was about to pounce on his wife, Clark grabbed him from behind.

'Let go of me. I'm going to kill her! Stupid, fat whale!' He screamed trying to jerk himself free of Clark's hold on him and at the same time kicking in Betty's direction in a failing attempt to hit her.

Lois watched as the insane man struggled in Clark's grasp. Frank's face was flushed; he was sweating profusely while the younger man seemed to effortlessly keep him in place.

She knew Clark was strong. She'd very recently gotten proof of that when he'd lifted her off the floor with one arm just a few minutes before. A cold shock ran down her spine at the memory. Shaking away the unwelcome feeling that insisted on settling itself in the pit of her stomach, she tried to refocus her thoughts.

Clark was big, but Mr. Berkley had at least 200 pounds on him. How did Clark manage to hold him down? Just how strong was he?

She snapped herself out of her musing, noticing that all the turmoil was waking Betty.

'Get him out of here.' She told Clark over Frank's incessant bellowing.

'Are you sure? What about-?'

'I'll stay here with her. Just get him out of here.'

'She sucked the life out of me! I hate her! I HATE her!' He continued to shout as Clark dragged him out of the room, down the hall and all the way down the stairs.

She watched as Betty began to stir, blinking repeatedly, trying to focus her blurred vision in order to identify her surroundings. Frowning, her gaze fell on Lois.

'Hi!' Lois quipped from her stop on the bed.

'Hi…' Betty mumbled slowly sitting up.

'Sorry about the…' Lois made a swinging motion with her empty hand. '…skull mashing. But it had to be done.'

The large woman groaned at the memory, rubbing the back of her head. Giving her a spiteful sideways glance she grumbled:

'I almost had him.'

'Excuse me? You were about to kill him!' Lois exclaimed.

'That was the point, you twit.'

'Hey!' Lois protested. Seeing the murderous look in her eyes she asked: 'You really wanted to kill him?'

'The man made my life a miserable hell, what do you expect? That lying, no good, cheating…' She garbled on, getting up, her eyes darting towards the door.

Realising her intentions, Lois quickly stepped in between the large woman and the exit.

'He's not here.'

'Then why are you blocking the door.'

'Be-because… you need to calm down.' Lois improvised. 'That was a pretty nasty blow there.'

She watched as Mrs. Berkley threw a suspicious glimpse in her direction.

Betty inhaled deeply. There was time to kill him later. She was actually a little tired.

'I'm going to sleep.' Betty decided turning around and heading for the bed.

'Sleep?! Not an option, lady.' Lois quickly slipped in between the muumuu covered woman and her new target. 'You just hit your head-'

'I just hit my head?! I seem to remember _someone_ hitting it for me.' Betty corrected.

'Same thing.' Lois said dismissively. 'The point is you shouldn't sleep right now. We should make sure everything in there is working properly.'

'Whatever…' Betty grumbled under her breath.

'Ok. So we are just gonna sit here and have a nice little chat.' Lois offered taking a seat on the mattress and patting her hand on a spot next to her.

Begrudgingly, Betty conceded and plopped down on the surface generating a wave that managed to bounce Lois up and down a couple of times.

'You need to calm down, Mr. Berkley!' Clark shouted for the third time. 'I'm not letting go until you do.' He assured him.

After a few minutes Frank stopped kicking, the screaming died down and he seemed to begin to relax.

Slowly, Clark loosened his grip and Frank jerked himself out of it.

'You ain't got nothing to do with this.' He said with a tight jaw.

'You were about to kill one another, I had to do something.'

'So what if I killed her! Stupid bitch!' He spat.

'She's your wife!' Clark pointed out shocked.

'So?'

'So… You can't seriously tell me you want to kill her.' Clark insisted incredulous.

'That woman has been sucking the life out of me for twenty five years. Twenty five!' He stressed. 'I should have gotten rid of her a long time ago.'

Clark's eyes widened at that.

'Come on… She's your wife-'

'Will you quit saying that?!' Frank interrupted irritated.

'Well, if you married her… There must've been a time in your life when you loved each other.'

There was a moment of pause. Frank seemed to be transported back to a period when that… _ feeling_ was actually alive somewhere in him.

'It can't be that bad. I'm sure there are some things about her that remind you of why you married her, right?' Clark continued, hopeful that he had struck a cord in the angered man.

'Not much…' He scoffed.

'It can't have always been this bad.'

After a couple of seconds Frank admitted:

'It wasn't…' His gaze was distant, as if he was watching a scene being played out in front of him; a scene only he could see.

'When did it get… bad?' Clark opted for the euphemism.

From his point of view, once killing your spouse was actually a scenario you'd consider, the situation was probably well beyond bad.

'I don't know. We just kinda drifted a part.' Frank muttered kicking a pebble from under his foot.

Clark watched, a bit uneasy about playing the part of confidant to a complete stranger, especially one with such a strong inclination for murder.

'I never really realised I hated her until…' He let out a cynical chuckle when he recognized: '…until I came here.' He chortled rancorously, looking up at Clark. 'Funny, huh? The one place that was supposed to fix our marriage was actually what made me see it was over. Made us realise just how much we couldn't stand each other.'

Clark felt a pang of sympathy for the man. Somehow, the image of the deranged husband slowly morphed into one of a bitter, disillusioned man.

'Maybe you-'

'I know now… I hate her. And she hates me.' He summarized blandly, turning around and walking into the woods.

'So…'

As always, Lois felt the unsettling need to fill in the void. Silence was probably the most nerve wracking and disconcerting situation she could be faced with. She just couldn't stand it, ever since she was a little girl. She just felt compelled to babble away.

'… you and...' Failing to remember his first name, Lois waited for Betty to provide the answer but received no feedback from the hefty woman sitting next to her. 'Mr. Berkley, you've been having problems in your marriage?'

Betty dispensed yet another nasty glance in her direction. It was becoming a habit.

Forcing a toothy smile Lois continued:

'Problems! Understatement of the year, huh?'

Mrs. Berkley failed to see the humour and seemed to be growing bored with Lois' pathetic attempt at making chitchat.

The seconds ticked by and the stillness began to have an increased effect on Lois causing her to blurt out:

'Did you ever try to kill your husband before?'

Oddly, Betty remained unfazed. After another excruciating couple of seconds she managed to mutter.

'Never felt as much hatred for him as I did tonight. Not enough to want to kill him.'

'You don't really hate him, do you? I mean, you married the guy, must-'

'Hate him.'

'But-' Lois tried to interject.

'With every fibre in my body.'

'That's a lot of fibre.'

The words were out of her mouth before she knew it; her eyes widening at her our statement.

Once again, Betty didn't react.

Considering the ardent taste for violence Betty had displayed earlier, Lois would have guessed that she'd be sporting at least a black eye right about now; maybe a couple of broken ribs, but that wasn't the case.

Apparently, Betty's violent tendencies were restricted to her husband.

'This place…'

Betty's words snapped Lois out of her musing.

'…made me see. Everything is so clear. I hate him.' She spoke to no one in particular, as if she was simply verbalizing her thoughts.

'Surely it's not hatred-' Lois tried to sound optimistic, in a pathetic attempt to lighten the mood.

Betty spoiled her effort:

'I hate him.' She repeated with a monotonic delivery. 'I've never felt anything as strongly as this. This place made me see that.'

'This place… yeah.' Lois nervously eyed her surrounding.

'It makes you see things more clearly.' Betty stated tediously with a blank stare.

'No it doesn't!' Lois vehemently denied raising her eyebrows high on her forehead and starting one of her trademark babble sessions: 'It messes with your head, that what it does! I-it makes you do things that you don't really wanna do, makes you feel things that aren't there. Suddenly, flannel isn't disturbing it's actually kinda… nice. Since when do I like flannel, or plaid for that matter! I don't, I never did! I'm not exactly fashion girl but… Come on! The guy could at least… ' She prattled on and on, completely oblivious to Betty's progressively catatonic state.

'Mr. Berkley?' Clark looked at the large man that simply stood in silence staring into infinity.

Clark had followed him while he'd walked around, aimlessly, for half an hour, without saying around. Gradually, he had sluggishly come to a complete stop.

'Mr. Berkley?' He repeated when he failed to get an answer.

The man had now been standing there for about five minutes. What was he doing?

Clark waved a hand in front of him. Frank blinked a couple of times and then slowly followed the entire length of the signalling arm from fingertips to shoulder until he found Clark's eyes.

'Are you alright?'

He nodded.

'We should go back to the cabins.' Clark offered.

'Yes… we should.' Frank's voice was groggy.

His tone was monotonous and eerily familiar. Clark's stomach scrunched up when he remembered hearing the same dull quality in Chloe's voice when she'd come back from Tranquil Oaks.

Four days later she was lying in a hospital bed, completely dehydrated, hypoglycaemic, with glassy and expressionless eyes, her breathing coming in slow, drawn out gasps.


	6. Chapter 6

Part 6

'Oh, this place does something to people, alright!' She assured an oblivious Betty. 'All of a sudden you catch yourself sniffing people you have NO business sniffing! You notice stuff like dopy blue eyes and stupid tousled hair…'

Her eyes were blankly fixed on a random spot in the middle of the room as the images flickered in front of her.

'And the jaw?!' She exclaimed with renewed enthusiasm. 'Looks like a fish! With the sharp edges sticking out from the sides!'

She pointed at both corners of her jawbone.

'Oh, and that annoying brow thing he does…' She brought her eyebrows together high on her forehead in an attempt to imitate him. 'You try and get mad at him. You can't! Your stomach is too distracting! It keeps doing the freaking shuffle that makes it impossible to concentrate.'

'And arms! I mean, who has arms like that? It's ridiculous! His bicep is almost as big as my head! Since when is that attractive? It's not! He's totally on the wrong end of the head/bicep ratio!'

She inhaled sharply when she began to get out of breath.

The sound of the front door opening echoed unnoticed as she continued her ramblings.

'Stupid arms that can pick you up off the floor like that.' She pouted frustrated at the overwhelming clenching feeling in her gut brought on by the memory. 'Just like that, suddenly you have no footing. You feel like you're flying! And that's not good! I like having… footing! Keeps you grounded, you know?'

'Lois?'

Lois' gaze snapped towards the door to find Clark standing there. Tightening her jaw, she stood up, stomped her way to him and snarled matter-of-factly:

'I like footing! It's a good thing to have! I want it back!'

She was about to leave the room when she turned around and added angrily: 'And there's going to be no more stomach shuffle!' before walking past Mr. Berkley and leaving a dumbstruck Clark behind.

After a couple of seconds and a few confused blinks he broke out of his initial shock. He hesitated, his gaze alternated back and forth between the apparently catatonic couple and the door to his room.

'Mrs. Berkley?' He called, but much like it had happened with her husband, received no answer.

His attention drifted back to the sounds coming from his room and he made up his mind.

He entered the space to find Lois vigorously emptying the contents of her backpack onto the bed and replacing them with the various jars of water samples she'd collected the day before.

'Lois, what are you doing? What happened to Betty?' He asked perplexed as she continued to move briskly.

'I'm going to Metropolis to get these samples analysed! I'm going to figure out just what the hell is going on here and I'm going to put an end to this absurd situation!' She stated finishing her packing, flinging her bag over her shoulder and getting ready to leave the room.

A towering Clark blocked her passage, causing her to almost bump into him.

'Do you mind?' She asked annoyed. 'Why are you so big anyway? You take up too much space? What is Mrs. Kent feeding you, miracle growth formula?' She huffed her bangs out of her eyes, impatiently tapping her foot on the floor as she waited for him to step away.

'Lois.'

'Stop calling me that!' She ordered irritated when she realised that the sound of her name coming from his mouth fuelled the butterflies in her stomach.

'It's your name. What am I supposed to call you?' Clark frowned even more puzzled.

What was wrong with her? Maybe she was being affected by whatever was causing the Berkleys' awakened coma.

'Are you ok?' He asked with genuine concern.

'I'm fine!' She growled pushing her way past him.

She was forced to a complete halt and spun around by an exasperating hand on her arm - Clark's hand.

'_Great, more butterflies!'_

She had to get out of there before… She closed her eyes tightly when a provocative series of images flashed in front of her.

'What?!' She hissed snapping her eyes open and giving him a murderous stare.

He looked her up and down causing a lump to form in her throat.

'You're in your pyjamas.' He pointed out.

Frowning, she looked down, recognizing that he was right. Jerking her arm out of his grasp she pointed towards the door.

'Leave. I have to get dressed.'

He did as she asked.

Five minutes later she opened the door. He was leaning on the wall, his arms crossed over his chest, waiting for her. He pushed himself off it when he saw her.

'Lois, I don't think you should go by yourself. You don't seem alright.' He said following her down the stairs while she ignored him.

'I'm fine, Smallville. I'm one step away from figuring out what's causing this whole thing. I'm not stopping now.'

'You're not fine!' He disagreed trailing after her across the living room and out the front door. 'Look, it's obviously not the water because you seem to be affected and you didn't drink any of it.'

She stopped in mid stride when she realised the error in her logic.

She was obviously affected because how else would she explain the fuzzy-Clark feelings she was having. It had to be something else. On the other hand she knew she HAD to get out of there.

'_Now!'_ She thought looking up at him.

'I'm going anyway. Maybe there is more than one way Ruth is doing this. I don't know!' Having made her decision she resumed her walk to her car. 'A-and I have to see Chloe. Make sure she's alright!' Opening the trunk, she placed her backpack inside and closed it coming around the vehicle but Clark stood in her way once again.

'I still don't think you should go! What if you-' He swallowed hard at the gruelling prospect running around in his mind. 'What if you become like… them? You'll drive off the road or something. You could get hurt.'

'The Berkleys were fine yesterday and they've been here longer than we have. It's too early for us to turn into walking cucumbers.' She pointed out taking a step forward, but he didn't budge. 'Do you mind?'

Only a few inches separated them forcing her to look up at him in order to meet his gaze.

He was close.

'_Too close._'

'Move, Smallville.' She warned him, glad that she was still able to conceal the anxiety from her voice. She had a feeling it wasn't going to last long considering the way he was looking at her.

'No.' He said simply.

She felt the anger bubble up inside of her.

_ 'This house made me see. Everything is so clear._' Betty's words echoed in her mind.

It couldn't be. It just couldn't! She wasn't supposed to have there feelings. This place, this whole place was causing this. It wasn't real. If she could just get away from here… everything would get back to normal, she'd be able to breathe normally around him again.

'I'm not going to say it again. Move.' She practically snarled.

'I can't let you leave like this. What if something happens to you?'

'That's not your problem!'

'Not my problem? Are you kidding?!' He asked incredulous.

Did she have no idea? Was she that blind?

'Look, I am not Lana or Chloe that you can just boss around! I do what _I _want!'

'Oh, believe me I know you're nothing like them.' He stated heatedly.

'What's that supposed to mean?!' She was outraged. How dare he imply that she was lesser than them?

She didn't wait for an answer. She pushed her way past him, gasping when he grabbed both arms and pinned her against the side of her car.

'Let go of me.' She managed to voice out between clenched teeth.

'No.' He could hear his accelerating heartbeat pounding away in his ears.

Abruptly, she brought her knee between them, trying to hit him but he anticipated the move and easily evaded the blow by pushing his hips against hers, effectively trapping her between the car and his body.

Keeping her jaw locked, she struggled to keep her breathing even and hold his stare at the same time.

She watched as his gaze dropped to her lips, much like he'd done just before they…

'Let me go.' She managed to exhale, closing her eyes for a second.

She summoned all of her strength and rage. Regaining her composure she looked up and gritted with renewed fury:

'Let. Go. Now.'

He didn't move.

'Clark, let me go. You can't keep me here.' She argued trying to shake herself out of his hold.

Luckily, she was too engulfed in the effort to free herself to notice Clark's eyes rolling into the back of his skull when her shifting caused her hips to rub against his crotch. His Adam's apple bobbed up and down as he swallowed dryly in an attempt to restrain a moan.

'Will, you hold still!?' He was able to make the throaty grunt sound aggravated.

Stopping abruptly she raised her chin at him.

'_Thank God!' _He groaned inwardly.

'Then let go.'

'Do you promise to listen for a second?'

She let out an exasperated breath.

Still a bit suspicious, he loosened his grip. When she didn't make an attempt to escape he dropped his hands from her arms and took a step back. But only one step, he was still crowding her. She could still feel his breath on her cheek.

'I can't risk…'

_ '…losing you.'_ His mind supplied, but what came out his mouth was:

'…having you drive around in this state.'

'And just what state might that be, Smallville?' She sneered trying to pretend to be unaffected by his closeness.

'You know…'

'No, I don't know. Enlighten me!' She said crossing her arms over her chest.

It wasn't a naive move; it was the perfect strategy to amplify the space between them. Keep him at bay, at a safe distance. That was all her mind seemed to demand and it completely contradicted what her body craved.

'You… We… What happened back… there…'

Her eyes widened at his words. Was he actually going there?! No, he wouldn't! They had a secret pact to simply ignore what was happening between them. That's what they always did.

His eyes moved randomly, trying to avoid meeting hers. He didn't want to do this… Talk about it, but if it was the only way he was going to get her to stay, that's what he was going to do.

'_He can't do this! You can't do this!'_ Her brain screamed at him.

'What happened earlier, back in the room when I-'

He went there!

_ 'Bastard!_'

She quickly cut him off.

'Fine! You're right!' She gave in. She would do anything; even admit defeat, which she hated, as long as it meant they'd skip this little conversation. 'We are under some kind of mystic thrall thingy that is making us do…' She gulped struggling with the right words. '…things that we don't want to do.'

'And feel-'

'Yes, yes, that too!' She interrupted raising her hand to stop him. 'All the more reason to figure this out. Maybe Chloe's doctors found something or there is something in the water, I don't know. What I do know is I can't just stand around waiting for God knows what! I can't stay here! I can't be around… We can't…' She trailed off as the awkwardness between them became palpable.

Inhaling she continued:

'Look, just stay here, keep an eye on the Berkleys and see what you can find out. I'll be back as soon as I can, ok?'

Reluctantly, he stepped back, his head bowed.

Getting into the car, she turned the key in the ignition, glancing at him one last time before she drove off.

He leaned his head against the cold tile, letting the scalding droplets rush down his back while he remained indifferent to them; his mind swarming with thoughts of what had happened over the last 24 hours.

'Less than that...' He murmured shaking his head and tilting his it upwards to have the water splash against his face.

What was wrong with this place? He had to figure it out before... Before he did something he would regret.

It was so strange. The sensations evoked in him in the last hours had been foreign in their intensity even disturbing, but at the same time exhilarating.

He'd felt something similar all throughout his adolescence. Every time Lana would walk into a room his stomach to plop up and down a couple of times, his breathing and heartbeat would become erratic. But he'd learned to control that. After a couple of minutes of being in her vicinity the sensations would die down, become manageable. Over the last year he realised they had become barely noticeable, mostly replaced by... regret.

But when it came to _her_...

A sideways smirk curved his lips at the memory of the snide and feisty tabloid reporter.

She was something else, alright.

He could never seem to fully relax around her. No matter how much time he spent with her she always managed to do something shocking and completely unexpected.

Nope, there was never a dull moment when it came to Lois. He'd realised that before. But now, in this place...

It was doing something to him. Something he didn't really know if he'd be able to control. He'd already slipped once.

His eyelids closed shut at the memory of their kiss.

Never being one for bold statement or audacious actions, Clark didn't understand how he'd managed to kiss her.

He shook his head again.

'I have to stop doing this. Spot thinking about it.' He ordered himself.

He had to focus. Determined to put an end to this mystery he turned off the water and wrapped the towel around his hips.

Popping his head into the hall he assured himself there was no one there before walking to his room.

In five minutes he was dressed and ready. Crossing the hall he knocked on the door. When he received no answer he turned the knob only to find that the door was locked.

Frowning, he jogged his way down the stairs and out of the cabin.

The Berkley's car was missing and there was a new blue Sedan parked next to his truck. Intrigued, he walked into the main lodge. The makeshift check-in counter was empty. Using his x-ray vision he found two figures walking around in the room on the first floor - one female, one male.

The male seemed to be holding some three metallic capsules in his hand.

They were a small containers, no bigger that an inch and a half each.

'You got all of this just from last night?'

Clark recognised the voice he'd heard over the phone. So Nathaniel had arrived like he'd promised.

Ruth simply nodded.

'I can't believe this! Who are these people?' Nathaniel seemed very impressed.

'I don't know. Yesterday the girl just popped by and wanted a room. She got real testy when I said we didn't have any.' Ruth jeered in disgust. 'I couldn't risk having her here while the Berkleys were staying. But then the boy showed up. You should have seen the stone flashing the moment he got near her. And when they started bickering?' She huffed in self approval. 'I knew they were a goldmine immediately.'

'And you got all of this in one night.'

'Not one night, Nathaniel.' She corrected. 'In four hours.'

Clark heard the man's heart jump at the information.

'That's amazing!'

'There was just a little problem.'

'What?'

'Around six this morning the machine spiked. It started drawing at a pace I've never seen. I think it went on overdrive and as a result it also increased the rate coming from the Berkleys. They turned too quickly. I barely managed to get them out of here.'

'But they left, right?'

'Yeah, but they were already exhibiting signs of stage 4, I don't know if they're gonna make it home.'

'Even better. Maybe they'll drive off the road and that mean less questions.'

Ruth shrugged.

'Ok, then. Let's see what this baby can do.'

Just then the ringing of a cell phone made Clark jump up as the sound seemed piercing to his heightened hearing.

He scrambled, looking for the device while walking out of the cabin, managing to retrieve it from the back pocket of his jeans in time to see the familiar number. He flipped the phone open, trying to ignore the feeling in his stomach.

'Hi.'

'Just calling to let you know that so far the lab results came back negative.' She started straight into the conversation, not bothering to return the greeting.

'How's Chloe?'

'The same. They've still got her on the vent.'

He could hear the pain in her voice even thought she tried to mask it.

'Anyway, the doctors still don't know what's wrong with her.'

There was a moment of pause before he asked meekly:

'What about you?'

'I'm fine. I'm on my way over.' She replied curtly. 'I should be back there in an hours.'

The beeping sound signalling the end of the call was all he heard next.

Sighing he put the phone back in his jeans and turned to the cabin.

He carefully scanned every inch of the lodge but failed to find anyone. He frowned when he noticed one particular aspect of the building that had eluded him so far. Apparently the crumbling lodge was built over a something. He tried to look further but failed. He frowned when he realised that the metallic compartment directly beneath the cabin was made out of lead.


	7. Chapter 7

Part 7

Clark stood there, in front of the cabin unsure of which course of action to take. On one hand he was curious to investigate the contents of the underground compartment, certain that there lay the answer to their riddle. On the other he remembered what Ruth had said - he needed to make sure the Berkleys got home safe.

Making up his mind he turned towards the one road that led to the interstate.

Inhaling, he began to super speed his way down the street. He hadn't travelled more than three miles when he found himself slowing down gradually. Stopping in his tracks he frowned, pausing for a second before resuming his run. He came to a screeching halt when he realised:

'I lost my speed.' He gulped.

What the hell?

He tried once more and failed to reach even a tenth of his usual velocity. He ran as fast as he could. He was still faster than most humans; enough to outrun a car maybe. He stopped again, brushing the back of his hand across his forehead and wrinkled his brow when he found it damp. He had actually broken a sweat.

What was happening to him?

The stinging scent of smoke cut short his musing. He ran a bit further stopping when he found what he'd been searching.

Unfortunately Ruth's omen had been accurate. A thick, grey cloud came from the hood that was now shattered by the direct impact with a broad tree trunk.

Reaching for the car door he tried to rip it out. The metallic structure screeched loudly but gave away only slightly. His strength...

The fear quickly crept its way up his oesophagus to form a tight lump in his throat.

Through the shattered glass of the window he could see Frank with his head hanging limply against the wheel.

Betty lay next to him, blood oozing from the large gash on her forehead.

Focussing his gaze on their necks he tried to scan them for any spinal injury.

'Great! That's gone too!' He sighed when instead of the usual clear x-ray vision he obtained a fuzzy blur.

Barely able to make out the individual vertebras he couldn't risk moving them. He couldn't do anything, he realised frustrated.

His mind struggled with what to do next. What did people usually do in these situations?

While checking for a pulse on Frank, Clark noted the faint movements of Betty's chest that indicated she was still breathing.

Making sure there was no gas leak and no chance for the car to explode, Clark reached for his cell phone and dialled 911.

After supplying all relevant information he was instructed by the operator to stay with them until the ambulance arrived.

Thirty minutes later he stood up to attention when his ears picked up the distinct ringing of an ambulance alarm. At least his heightened hearing was still there.

Within three minutes the white vehicle appeared along with a police car.

He watched as the paramedics immediately went to work.

'Clark Kent?'

His attention shifted from the wrecked car to a tall man dressed in a dark brown uniform sporting a metallic badge on his chest.

'That's me.' He confirmed as he reached out to shake the hand offered to him.

'I'm Deputy Wilkins. Did you make the 911 call?'

'Yes, I was walking past when I noticed the car.' He lied.

His eyes followed Betty's body as it was transported into the ambulance on a gurney; a protective collar was around her neck.

'What were you doing here in the middle of the woods?'

'I'm staying at the Tranquil Oaks resort. It's three miles down the road.' Clark explained.

The deputy nodded, signalling that he knew the place. Clark caught the strange reaction to the mentioning of the resort. The man looked... uncomfortable, even a little scared.

'So you were out for a walk?' The deputy tried to confirm.

Clark nodded. It was Mr. Berkley's turn to be carried into the ambulance.

'I know them.' Clark added. 'They were guests at the resort. I think they were on their way home.'

'Do you know their names?'

'Betty and Frank Berkley.' Clark supplied as the ambulance drove away at full speed.

'Well, there isn't much traffic around these parts and seeing as there are no tire marks it was probably some wild animal that crossed their path and caused them to drive off the road.' Wilkins theorized. Analyzing the position of the car he added: 'Either that or Mr. Berkley fell asleep and failed to make the turn. Happens sometimes.'

Their conversation was cut short when another police car followed by a tow truck arrived at the scene.

'Excuse me.' The Deputy said as he walked over to the officer that came out of the car.

Clark watched as the two exchanged a few short sentences before parting ways.

'Thanks for your help Mr. Kent. We'll take it from here.'

After giving the man his information Clark dispensed one last glance in the direction of the crashed car and turned back on his way towards Tranquil Oaks.

He sighed for the umpteenth time. Walking somewhere, he realised, sucked. It sucked big time. How did people do this?

He was startled out of his thoughts by a high-pitched honk.

Turning around he recognized Lois' car coming down the road towards him.

Super-hearing gone? Check.

'What are you doing here?'

She asked not bothering to greet him.

'Don't ask.' He grumbled opening the door and taking his place next to the driver's seat.

'Were you with the Berkley's when they crashed?' He could read a hint of concern in her voice as she drove off.

'No. I came after them when I heard Ruth say that they'd left.'

'Heard her say? To who?'

'Whom.' He corrected eliciting a disdainful face from her.

'Whatever, professor...'

'The guy she was talking to on the phone yesterday came over.'

'How do you know it's him?'

He scrambled in his mind for an acceptable answer finally fishing out:

'She called him by his name - Nathaniel.'

'You remember the guy's name?' She felt her stomach turn uncomfortably.

So, while she was busy trying to pathetically manage her breathing under that stupid table he was merrily listening in on the phone conversation. That bit of information caused a sting in her chest. She quickly transformed it into anger and stored it away for later use.

Taking a deep breath she focussed her attention on the road ahead.

'That's not all I heard.'

She huffed trying to seem uninterested.

'Nathaniel was holding something in his hand. These... metallic capsules. I think they're somehow harvesting something from the people who stay in the cabins, but I just can't figure out how they're doing it.'

'Well, it's not in the water. My guy at the lab came up with nothing. Just regular H2O.' She supplied.

'What about you?' He asked after a few minutes of silence.

'Like I said, I've got nothing.'

'No. I mean, how are you feeling?' At Lois' furrowed brow he added: 'A-any new… symptoms?'

'Do you mean do I feel the sudden urge to jump you?' Clark's eyes widened at her bluntness. 'Nope. I'm fine. I'm freak-urge free. Guess the fresh smog filled Metropolis air cured my temporary insanity.' She laughed forcefully.

'A-actually, I meant do you feel weak or... about to go into a catatonic state.' He muttered uncomfortably.

'Negative on that one too. I feel great!' She exclaimed stretching her arms and back while keeping a tight grip on the wheel. After a moment of pause she asked: 'You?'

'Great.' He said half-heartedly watching as the three cabins came into view.

So she was over her... feelings towards him?

_ 'Good. That's good.'_ He tried to convince himself.

She swung the car door shut and opened the trunk of the car picking out her bag before closing it.

While he stepping out, Clark noticed that the Sedan was still there.

The two walked up to the cabins to find Ruth standing on the porch, a lit cigarette dangling from her thin lips.

'Mr. Kent. I was wondering where you and your wife had run off to.'

Ruth's statement caused the couple to come to stop dead in their tracks. Lois was the first to nervously start correcting:

'Oh, no, no we're-' shaking her head vehemently.

'We're not-'

'-not together.'

'-married.' Clark finished equally flabbergasted by the woman's assumption.

Ruth simply shrugged and walked back into the cabin.

The two exchanged uncomfortable glances before they resumed walking toward their cabin.

She let out a sigh coming into the small kitchenette and plopping her bag on the counter. Clark watched as she began to fish out its contents.

'You bought food.' He noted surprised.

'I don't make the same mistake twice.'

After she'd finished she came back into the living room. The two stood there awkwardly.

'So... what do we do now?' Clark broke the stillness.

'I already searched the house. There is nothing here.'

'I think whatever they are using is in that compartment. They mentioned a machine.' He explained.

'I guess we go and check it out.'

'What about Ruth?'

Ruth, right! She was starting to get on Lois' nerves.

This was all her fault. First, there was the untimely interruption of their _Nancy Drew_ moment the other night, forcing them to end up under the desk. That's where it started, she realised.

And now she was coming between them and the secret compartment. Yep, all Ruthie's fault!

'Lois?' Clark called seeing the distant murderous glare in her eyes.

Snapping out of her thoughts she looked up at him.

'I guess we'll just have to barge in there. To hell with Ruth!'

'Lois, we can't do that. Plus, Nathaniel is there too.' Clark pointed out.

'How do you know?' She huffed.

'His car was still parked outside.'

'So? I don't care! Bring him on!' She challenged.

As she began a determined stride towards the door she was forced to come to a halt by Clark's growingly familiar hand on her arm.

'Ok, let's get one thing straight.' She peeled his hand from her arm. 'There will be no more grabbing of my arm.' After a second she clumsily added: 'M-my arm of any other body part. Noo more grabbing! Ok, Smallville?'

He awkwardly buried his hand in his pockets.

'It's best if we just wait till they're asleep.' He offered.

'That could take forever.' She whined. 'I'm not staying here stuck with- I-I'm not staying here all day.' She caught herself.

Clark gave her a pleading look and she relented:

'Fine!'

Strutting towards the stairs she added over her shoulders, I'm taking a bath. First floor is off limits for the next three hours.

The memory of a door behind swung open to reveal a soaked, naked Lois rushed past in his mind causing him to gulp dryly.

Inhaling, he scanned the room. It was going to be a long wait.

After almost four hours of bathing and overzealous grooming, she'd jogged down the stairs, walked into the kitchenette.

'That was a long bath.'

She had to stop herself from jerking up when she heard his voice right behind her. After a second she delivered her reply as nonchalantly as possible:

'I like long baths. Any news?' She asked, busying herself by making a sandwich.

'The car hasn't moved and neither one of them has come out.' He answered, his eyes lingering on the wet threads that cascaded down her t-shirt-clad back.

His gaze followed her as she dragged her feet towards the refrigerator and fished out a soda can.

'Are we sticking to the _wait and see_ plan?'

There was a hint of scorn in her question. It was clear she wasn't too found of the idea. She wanted to get this thing overwith as soon as possible.

Turning around to face him she found herself holding her breath for a second.

'I guess so.'

Walking over to pick up her sandwich from the counter she bit into it. Chewing vigorously she scoffed:

'Well, I'll do my waiting upstairs.'

She walked past him. Ignoring the feel of his arm brushing against hers, she quickly sprinted up the stairs. Clark remained with his feet buried in the kitchen floor, finally managing to inhale when he heard the door slam shut.

It was getting too hard.

Maybe this plan wasn't such a good idea.

She leaned against the door, her eyes closed tightly shut as she tried to control her racing heart.

The sandwich and the soda can were dropped unceremoniously to the floor with a loud thud; completely forgotten.

After a few moments she pushed herself off the wooden frame and walked over to the bed, crawling into it.

Sleep. That was a good idea. A good way to kill time.

Lying on her back she commanded her brain to shut down. It refused to obey and instead it became incredibly attune to the scent emanating from the pillow next to hers. Before she could reprimand herself, she rolled around under the covers, her nose now buried in the soft material.

She inhaled deeply.

God help her but she loved it! She really did.

Unconsciously, her gaze drifted to his bag. She lay there undecided for a couple of minutes before she slipped out of the bed and headed for the door. She put her ear up against it while her hand found its way to the key and turned it, locking the room.

Slowly, she hesitantly made her way to the bag discarded on the floor. She shouldn't be doing this, but her hand moved of its own accord sliding the zipper open. She frowned when she realised it was completely empty.

A sly smirk settled on her lips and she stood up walking towards the wardrobe and opened it.

'It figures.' She muttered when she found a stack of neatly folded t-shirts next to an equally tidily folded pair of jeans.

Her smirk turned into a soft smile when she found her own clothes organised next to his.

She'd last seen them in a buddle on the bed.

Looking up she found her objective hanging from the rack above them.

Her hand reached for it only to quickly retract as if it'd been scalded.

_ 'I shouldn't do this...'_

Her fingers lingered on her lips.

_ 'Why shouldn't I? I've done it before. There's nothing wrong with it._ _ It's just a stupid shirt.'_ She rationalized reaching for the flannel and slipping it off the hanger.

Her clothes were quickly replaced by the old shirt before she returned to her comfortable spot on the mattress.

With a content smile on her face she glided under the covers enjoying the way the fabric felt on her bare skin. The best thing about it? The smell. It actually felt like she was surrounded by him.

Letting her imagination drift she ignored the part of her brain that insisted on chastise her current actions.

The door was locked, she was alone, she wasn't actually doing anything _with_ him. This was safe and she figured that it was the only thing keeping her from rushing downstairs and... The image in her mind cause her to let out a harsh mewl. She closed her eyes completely ignorant of strange smoke that had been steadily pouring into the room for the last ten minutes.

'Nathaniel! We can't do this. It's too early!' Ruth protested for the third time but the man standing in front of the computer screen continued to type in the codes. 'We've never used that amount. They shouldn't be exposed to it for so long and definitely not in that dosage. They could die!'

When he continued to ignore her, she placed hand on his shoulder.

'Nathaniel!'

'Look at it!' He pointed heatedly at the large metallic structure in the far corner of the room.

In the centre of it a small needle hovered over a test tube. The glass container was half full with a reddish liquid.

Ruth watched as a drop trickle from the needle into the tube.

'We've never been able to harvest this much from any couple. Ever. You were right, they are a goldmine. This batch alone should be enough to last me for three months.'

'But you're taking too much. They could die!' Ruth argued, pleading with the man.

'Oh, wake up Ruth!' He barked angrily. 'What do you think happened to all of the other guests?'

Ruth's eyes widened in horror.

'W-what are you saying?' She managed to stutter out in shock.

'They're dead, Ruth! Don't tell me you're that naïve!' He sneered in ridicule.

'But you said-'

'We are draining all their emotions. They turn into walking zombies with absolutely no will of their own. What did you expect? Of course they're died!' Gazing with bloodshot, glassy eyes he finished: 'We took their life force, Ruth!'

Ruth stood there, frozen in place while Nathaniel moved towards the test tube, staring intently as yet another drop dangled from the needle. This was amazing! Pity it wasn't going to last forever. It should be over by tonight. But no matter, he would have enough to keep him alive for a long time.

'All those people...' Ruth's strangled cry barely registered in his mind.

Inhaling deeply she made up her mind.

'You can't do this.'

Nathaniel turned to see her type away at the keyboard.

'What are you doing?' He growled.

'I'm putting an end to this!' She said without looking up at him.

That was her mistake. She never saw the rod being swung until it hit her temple, knocking her out instantly.

'You can not stop this.' He whispered hovering over her unmoving form.


	8. Chapter 8

Part 8

Clark paced around in the living room. He'd been doing that since he'd heard the door to the bedroom slam shut, closely followed by two simultaneous thuds.

He knew it was probably nothing but it was the perfect excuse to...

'Just stay put.' He told himself.

He ran his hand through his hair before settling it on the back of his neck; his eyes drifting towards the top of the flight of steps for the fourth time in fifteen minutes.

This was ridiculous. They were in a very dangerous situation, he'd apparently lost all of his abilities and all he could think about was racing up the stairs, bursting into the room and...

'Damn it!' He swore, his fingers gripping the back of his neck tightly.

He exhaled sharply as he stared at the staircase. He shouldn't even be thinking about going up there. She would kill him.

It was obvious that whatever had been messing with their emotions had come back in full force.

He'd always prided himself on being able to control his less than wholesome... urges.

Not even months of self imposed celibacy while dating Lana had been this hard. Not even when she'd thrown herself at him. This was much worse.

He could feel his resolve breaking down.

His mind seemed to come up with numerous excuses why this wasn't wrong.

He didn't have his powers so he didn't have to worry about hurting her.

She clearly wanted it too. He'd felt it when she'd kissed him back.

Plus, it was the perfect way to kill time.

'God, stop thinking about it and just-' He let his body drop limply on the couch. 'Just get a grip on yourself.'

As she shifted under the covers, surrounded by the intoxicating scent and the familiar feel of flannel on her skin, her hand involuntarily slipped under the fabric, glided down her stomach, found its way across her hipbone before coming lower to nestle between her thighs.

_ 'You shouldn't do this.' _ A part of her brain told her.

Unfortunately, it wasn't the part in control of her hand.

Her mouth opened partially to let out a mewled pant when her fingers moved up her inner thigh and found their goal.

Why was it that all the wrong things always felt so-

'Ah!' She gasped burying her face in his pillow when a familiar electric jolt spread through her body.

Her mind raced, flooded with forbidden images and sounds.

She felt her body urge her to move faster, harder and she pushed her hips against her hand. She bit into the pillow, a part of her mind still aware that he was downstairs and could come up at any second.

That little bit of information didn't help things at all and only seemed to intensify the sensations causing noisier whimpers to escape her parted lips.

Clark let out his one hundredth sigh of the afternoon. He had to do something about it.

He was off the couch and up the stairs in a flash but came to an abrupt stop just a few feet from her door.

He couldn't do this. He shouldn't. If he was being affected by this, then so was she.

It took all of his strength to turn around and begin walking back to his own private hell in the living room.

He'd taken two steps when he heard a strange sound coming from behind the door.

What was that?

He strained to hear once again. There was nothing.

Maybe it was just his imagination. Damn, he wished he had his abilities back.

He was about to resume his stride when he heard it again. There it was! It was muffled but he was sure it was a cry... a whimper.

Something was happening to Lois. She was in trouble!

'Lois!' He breathed, reaching for the door handle.

His heart jumped to his throat when he found it was locked.

She was lost in the intense feeling that course through her body; so lost, in fact, that the sound of a door handle being jiggled didn't even register in her hazed mind.

'Lois!'

His voice shouting her name filtered into the fantasy at just the right moment.

God, it had never felt this vivid!

She arched her back off the mattress as the orgasm took hold of her body, a strangle cry escaping her gaping mouth.

The fear strangled his chest tighter when he heard her cry.

He slammed his shoulder against the door in a faint attempt to knock it down.

Her eyes snapped open and darted towards the door at the loud thud. Next thing she knew the wooden frame was on the floor and a heaving Clark was standing over it.

Before she could react he was sitting at the side his hands gripping her arms.

'Lois, are you ok?'

She was flushed, her breathing was highly erratic and even though he didn't have this heightened sense of hearing he could feel her racing heart.

'What happened?'

She sat shell-shocked staring wide eyed at him.

The seconds ticked away and she still couldn't get her mouth to say anything. It was too soon after... The images still swam around in her brain her body still had that delicious tingly feeling all over and the fact that his face was an inch from hers and his hands were now pushing back an unruly string of hair from her face didn't help either.

'T-the door...' She finally managed to voice out.

'You were screaming I thought you were in trouble.' He quickly explained, completely oblivious to what he'd walked in on. 'Was someone in here? Did someone attack you?' His voice was filled with concern and his hands seemed to be obsessed with making sure every inch of her was unharmed.

Right now they were busy making their way down her arms, his eyes following suit.

'I-I'm...' She was actually stammering.

She hated that. She hated that he had that power over her. That he could unnerve her to the point that she couldn't talk. She hated that she'd been reduced to fantasize over him while he seemed to be perfectly immune to it.

The anger helped push back the embarrassment and she was able to swat his hands away from her while quickly scrambling off the bed and onto her feet.

'I'm fine and I thought we'd agreed on no grabbing.' She scolded angrily. 'And just what the hell do you think you're doing? You broke the door down!' She exclaimed coming to inspect his handy work.

He was confused. She wasn't in trouble? Then why had she been screaming? Why was she so out of breath? Why were her cheeks so red?-

Why was she wearing his shirt?!

His eyes drifted down her bare legs.

Correction - why was she wearing just his shirt?

'Lois, why are you wearing my shirt?' He breathed out, the fear in him being replaced by the feeling that had been tormenting him for the last hours.

She froze.

_ 'Just keep your eyes on the door. Look at the door, don't look at him! You're angry about the door, remember?' _ Her brain supplied her with directions.

'The door, Smallville! It's completely destroyed.'

'I told you, I thought you were in trouble.' He said dismissively, the door wasn't what interested him right now. 'Why are you wearing my shirt?'

'Ruth is going to kill you.' She continued to ignore his question.

She watched from the corner of her eyes when he got up off the bed and closed the distance between them.

'You know this is coming out of your pocket, buddy.' She spoke as she began to move around the bed, away from him.

The room was too small, she realised. And it didn't help that he was huge. He occupied at least a third of it.

_ 'Ok, maybe not a third, but definitely a-'_

'Lois.'

His voice jolted her out of her mental ramblings.

'What?' She snapped back, stopping still and turning to face him.

_ 'Bad idea.' _ Her brain muttered when the butterflies in her stomach resurfaced.

But she held her ground.

'Why are you-'

'I couldn't find my clothes! I don't know what you did with them.' She tried nonchalantly.

_ 'Please let it stick.'_

'Your clothes are in the closet, where my shirt was.'

'Oh! I must have missed that. I just grabbed the first thing I saw.' She shrugged.

'Why was the door locked?'

'What is this? 20 questions?!' She retorted crossly, feeling cornered as he towered over her.

'No, I just-' He mumbled nervously losing the upper hand in the argument.

Being this close to her wasn't helping, he couldn't think straight. God, she looked amazing wearing his shirt!

'What?' She asked after a few seconds of silent staring.

His Adam's apple caught her attention, bobbing up and down as he swallowed dryly.

It made her weak in the knees. She hated that.

'Stop it!' She commanded.

'What did I do?!' He asked confused.

'You're staring at me. Stop doing that!'

'I wasn't staring.' He denied.

'Yes, you were.' She insisted. 'You're still doing it!'

They stood there, in overwhelming stillness, while their harsh pants filled the room.

Keeping the small distance between them was becoming increasingly hard. He had to leave. He didn't think he could stand being this close to her and not touching for another second.

'I should go.' It was barely a whisper.

'Yes...' She breathed back, her gaze alternating between this eyes and his mouth. '...you should.'

'I can't stay here because...'

Forming a complete sentence was presenting itself as a great challenge.

'Just go, Clark.' She practically whimpered.

'I can't.' He finally admitted taking a step towards her an invading her personal space.

Her breath hitched in her throat when he shortened the distance between them.

'Clark...'

Her gaze dropped to his chest, unable to keep eye contact. She could feel his breath on her left ear as he loomed over her.

She closed her eyes and tried to summon all the determination she could muster.

'Clark, please... Just...' She trailed off unable to finish her sentence.

The pleading tone in her voice seemed to give him strength. He shook his head as if trying to clear his mind. He wasn't going to do this to her.

'I-I'll go...' He said reluctantly.

He began to turn around when something inside her snapped. Her hand was on his t-shirt, giving it a blunt tug before coming up to pull his face down for an urgent kiss.

He inhaled sharply just a second before her mouth claimed his with bruising force.

On the tip of her toes, she pushed her body up against his. His response was instant. His arms immediately wrapped themselves around her slender shape, drawing her in to deepen the kiss.

Their movements were erratic; the desperate need to be closer seemed to be the driving force of their actions.

She felt him moan against her when her tongue invaded his mouth and as a result she found herself being hauled up off the floor, her bare legs intuitively folding themselves around his waist.

He pushed his tongue against hers responding with the same passion, the same urgency.

'Ah!' She gasped for air when her back was slammed against the nearby wall; their kiss finally broken.

Panting frantically they stared at one another.

'We...' He swallowed, inhaling a couple of times, trying to catch his breath before he was able to continue: '...We can't do this. Something... is making us-' gasp '...feel this way.'

'I know.' She gulped, her attention centred on his mouth.

'We have to stop.' He continued equally mesmerized by her lips.

'I know.' She repeated hazily.

'I don't want to.'

'Neither do I.'

She was barely able to finish the sentence before his mouth was on her lips, his hips pressing against hers, effectively trapping her body between him and the wall behind her.

One hand roamed through his dishevelled hair while the other tried to tug his t-shirt over his shoulders.

His fingers dug into the flesh of her thighs, holding her up while he moved against her eliciting a small, muffled cry from her when he pressed into the perfect spot. She could feel just how much he wanted her too.

She tore her mouth from his when the lack of oxygen became an issue. Craning her neck back she struggle for breath while his mouth found its way to her throat.

'This isn't us...' She could hear him moan between hard open-mouth kisses to her neck.

'It's this place.' She managed to grunt out when he pushed against her one more time. 'God, I love it when you do that...'

He did it again and as a response she fisted her hand into his hair and yanked it forcing him to abandon her neck and look up at her.

With their gazed locked he pressed his hips leisurely and hard into her.

Her eyes rolled back in their sockets as she mewled:

'We can't do this.'

Dejectedly dropping his head to rest on her heaving chest he moaned:

'I can't stop.'

'We have to.' She swallowed painfully.

He looked up at her. After a second she felt his grasp on her thighs loosen. Reactively her legs tightened their grip on him.

'You're not helping.' He said with a painful smirk.

She loved the way the half smile twisted his lips.

'Neither are you.'

'I'm doing my part.'

It was amazing, even in this ridiculous situation they managed to find a way to bicker.

She sighed letting her head fall so her forehead was resting against his.

'I want you so much...'

Her stomach flopped at his words.

'I've never wanted anything so much in my life.'

'Not helping, Smallville.' She mocked.

'I know...'

'We have to get out of here.'

'If I move, it won't be in the direction of the door.' He announced sincerely.

They remained that way for a couple of minutes, foreheads touching as they tried to control their desire for one another.

All she could think about was kissing him again.

She moved slowly, tilting her head and leaning in to brush her lips against his.

'Maybe if we...' She began while he pressed his mouth against hers.

'...if we just...'

His tongue swept across her lips, as if asking for permission.

'...just kiss...'

She opened her mouth and gave him access before pulling away for second.

'... for a while...'

Kiss.

'... maybe this...'

Another kiss.

'...feeling will go...'

His fingers clenched into her skin when she kissed him again.

'...will go away.' She managed to voice out her plan.

'Good idea.' He agreed before attacking her mouth in full force.

The sound of wet kisses echoed in the silent room mixed with an occasional moan as they battled with their tongues.

She was caught in the myriad of emotions and sensations running through her and was barely aware when her back abandoned the cold wall. It was quickly replaced by the soft and warm feel of the bed sheets. She opened her eyes to find the ceiling staring back at her while Clark's lips explored the column of her neck.

Lying on the bed, his hands were now free to roam and they did so.

Her eyelids slid closed when his right hand left her thigh and slipped under the small of her back, kneading her flesh.

She was partially shocked when his teeth grazed her collarbone. She never thought he had it in him to be so bold. But then again she never thought she would be in this particular position either.

Suddenly, he stopped, his face buried in the crook of her neck.

'Your plan isn't working.' He said.

Why did he stop moving? Oh right, because this was wrong! Right...

He propped himself on his left arm to look at her.

'If we give into this we might end up...'

'Human cucumbers, check!' She sighed frustrated.

'I was going to say hating each other.'

His gaze remained fixed on her lips.

'Then stop doing that!' She suddenly retorted pushing him off of her and getting up.

She stood there, at the foot of the bed, looking extremely pissed at him.

'If you don't want this to happen, stop doing all these things that drive me insane.'

'Wha-'

'Stop looking at me like that. I can't breathe when you do.'

'I didn't mean-'

'Just leave.' She pointed at the spot where the door was supposed to be.

'Lois!'

'And don't say my name like that!' She snapped.

'Like what?'

'Oh, God you're so infuriating!'

He was off the bed and towering over her.

'And you're not?! You're the most obnoxious-'

'Rude person you know. Yeah, we've had this conversation already and it didn't end well as I recall.' She said snidely.

He simply stared at her.

'You're not leaving.' She remarked.

Letting his head drop in defeat he turned around to leave.

'That's it?!' She asked in disbelief. 'It's that easy for you, huh?'

He turned to face her.

'Easy?!'

He seemed furious as he came at her.

'You think it's easy for me?'

When he crowded her space, she backed up.

'I went up that flight of stairs God knows how many times this afternoon, only to stop at this door and go back down.'

He invaded her space and she took a few steps until she felt her back up against the wall.

'And you just prance around into the living room with your wet hair, smelling like-' He inhaled sharply before continuing: 'I had to hold onto the counter until my knuckles turned white just so I wouldn't grab you. I'm exhausted! I didn't get any sleep last night, not for a second because I was too afraid of what I'd do if I did.'

He leaned in, his anger slowly morphing into desire at her nearness.

'You're the most annoying person I know. You make my life a miserable hell and all I can think about right now is how much I want to kiss you.' He confessed.

She was flushed, her breathing came in shallow, quick pants, and her lips were swollen.

'You have no idea how much I want you right-'

She cut him off, lunging at him and crashing her lips against his, causing him to stumble back until the back of his legs touched the bed.

She pressed against him until he toppled over and collapsed onto the mattress. She soon followed, covering his body with hers, her partially wet hair cascading around his face as she continued to kiss him frantically.

Her determined hands slipped under his t-shirt and played with the muscles of his stomach.

'Lois...' He tried.

Sitting up and bring him with her, she tore her mouth from his just long enough to gasp:

'Shut up, Smallville.'


	9. Chapter 9

Part 9

Pulling at the hem of his t-shirt, the white material was soon discarded on the floor.

She sat on his lap, staring down at his chest for a couple of seconds before her gaze met his once more.

'I can't believe we're actually doing this!' She voiced out the mantra that had been plaguing her thoughts.

He swallowed, his eyebrows furrowing painfully over the bridge of his nose when her fingernails scrape across his chest and down to his stomach.

When he leaned in, her left hand resting over his shoulder held him in place while her right one continued to draw patterns on his belly.

She watched as the muscles beneath contracted wildly.

'Lois...' He half-begged when he tried to kiss her but she continued to keep him at bay.

'Are sure you want to-'

'Yes!' He interrupted her, not letting her finish the question.

'Maybe we should try to... stop.'

'We've tried it already.' He practically whimpered in despair.

'I just think that-'

'Lois, you're killing me here.' He growled snatching her wandering hand in his and pulling her in for a ravenous kiss.

She tore her mouth from his and gasped out:

'Wha-what do you think is causing this?'

'What?' He frowned at her question reaching for her and sucking her lower lip into his mouth.

'Mmph..' She managed to escape him once again but he held her face an inch from his. 'What's causing these feelings?'

'I-I don't know.' He stammered confused. It was very hard to focus on all these questions when she was straddling his hips.

'It's not in the water. We know that. Maybe it's in the sheets. No, that wouldn't make sense! You wouldn't be this affected. You were downstairs all day and...'

He watched her in baffled awe as she continued on with her nervous ramblings.

What the hell was she talking about?

'What do you think?'

'What?' He blinked with a goofy, desperate look on his face.

'What do you think is causing...' She gulped. '...this?'

'To be honest Lois, I'm not sure thinking straight is something I can do right now.' He confessed sincerely. 'It's kinda hard with...' He looked down, trying to emphasize their current position.

'Oh!'

'Yeah...' He pursed his lips together, flexing the muscles in the corner of his jaw.

Cautiously, he leaned in. When she didn't push him away he let out a sigh of relief, but the moment his lips brushed against her:

'What about this Nathaniel guy? Where does he fit into this?'

His head dropped in frustration for a second before he asked:

'Don't you ever shut up, Lois?'

'I can't!' She snapped back with a pout. 'I-I'm nervous.' She admitted.

'Don't you want to... anymore?' The panic was evident in his voice.

'Oh, I want to, believe me.' She assured him pushing her hips against his.

'God, don't do that, Lois!' He hissed in pleasure closing his eyes, his hands tightening their grip on her waist.

Provokingly, she did it again and suddenly, with a resounding whoosh, found herself flat on her back; Clark's broad form hovering over her.

She held her breath when his hands slipped between her legs. Her mouth fell open to let out a strangled mewl as his thumb pressed against the damp fabric of her underwear.

He watched her face contort in pleasure while he drew small circles with his fingers. Soon she was lifting her hips off the mattress in a desperate attempt to increase the pressure.

Her eyes snapped open meeting his when his index finger slipped under the hem of her panties and brushed against her wet sex. He gulped dryly at the look on her face. It encouraged him and he slowly slipped his finger into her.

'Ah!' She cried biting her lower lip.

The strange combination of fear and excitement caused his heartbeat to accelerate. On one hand this was the most erotic moment in his life, on the other terror gripped him as he remembered just how little experience he'd had in this department.

It was only his second time. And Lois wasn't exactly an inexperienced teenager. What if he wasn't any good?

The sounds that came out of her mouth and the way her body moved urgently against his hand he was pretty sure he was doing something right, at least for the time being.

He jolted to attention when suddenly her hand was gripping his wrist tightly keeping it in place.

'Did I do something wro-'

'Right there!' She grunted breathlessly. 'Right there!'

A bit confused he flipped his finger eliciting a choked: 'God, yes!' from her.

He repeated the action and felt a burst of pride when he got an even more powerful response out of her. He continued the small circular motion and soon she was panting harder than ever.

His eyes widened as he watched her hold her breath for a second, her back arching off the mattress just as the muscles inside her contracted uncontrollably around his finger.

After a few seconds her body dropped limply on the bed, her grip on his finger loosening considerably and allowing him to slip out of her while she let out the breath she'd been holding. She was flushed, small drops of sweat gathered around her forehead and there was a content smile on her lips.

_ 'Did she just...'_

Lois moaned as she enjoyed the wonderful numbness spreading through her body. That had been... something else!

Looking up she frowned when she saw the oddest, goofiest expression on Clark's face.

'What?' She managed to ask.

'N-nothing.'

She tilted her head in a clear sign that his answer was not acceptable.

'Did-did you just...'

She simply looked at him and he blushed.

'Did you just have an...'

She remained silent, making his task very difficult and painful.

'You know...'

Her lips curved to one side for her trademark smirk while she simply raised an eyebrow at him.

He dropped his head in embarrassment muttering:

'Don't make me say it.'

'Ever the boy scout, huh, Smallville?'

He looked down at her.

'Well… did you?'

'I definitely did!' She finally put him out of his misery.

Coming up, her mouth met his and she expertly flipped them over until she was on top.

He'd given her an orgasm! It was very first orgasm he'd given a woman! His first-

_ 'Oh, God!_' His brain seemed to short circuit when he finally realised she had taken off his shirt and was now straddling him wearing nothing but her panties.

He remained frozen on the bed as her hands reached for the fastening of his jeans. He watched with large, doe eyes as she popped the buttons one by one.

She leaned forward, getting off of him so she could tug his jeans down his legs.

'Shoes.'

'Huh?'

She smiled and repeated:

'Shoes, off.'

He nodded vehemently and quickly kicked off his shoes letting her remove his jeans.

She was back, sitting on his thighs, one hand next to his head propping her up, while the other roamed over his stomach.

He quickly responded when her lips came down to brush against his by opening his mouth to give her tongue access. His eyes flew open when her hand slipped under the hem of his underwear and wrapped itself around him.

He broke the kiss to gasp for air when she began to move up and down, applying just the right pressure.

How did she know exactly what to do to drive him crazy?

Oh, right! It wasn't her first time! He pushed back the hint of jealousy that crept in his chest.

It was completely forgotten when she bit into the column of his neck.

She moved harder, stepping up the pace.

Feeling his control start to waver it was his turn to catch her wrist and stop her.

He didn't have to say anything. She let go of him and hocked her fingers on the edge of his boxer pulling them down his legs.

Coming back up she lay on top of him and her hands guided him to her last item of clothing urging him to help take it off.

As they both sat up he slipped his hands under fragile fabric and soon it joined the rest of their discarded garments on the floor.

Her breath caught in her throat when she saw the look on his face as he took in her naked form.

She smirked when he gulped; much like he had done that time when she'd been forced to strip while he sat in the audience, hiding his face so she couldn't see him. She loved it when he had that look.

_ 'Definitely a boy scout.'_

Throwing her leg across his body, she straddled him while he remained sitting on the bed.

He kept his eyes on hers as she leisurely bent her knees lowering herself until he was positioned at her entrance.

He inhaled sharply, his nostrils flaring, the muscles in his jaw contracting as she continued to lower herself and he gradually slipped inside of her.

He groaned when she rose for a second before lowering herself once more. She repeated the agonizing process a few times until she finally slid all the way down, taking him all in; both let out a harsh moan.

After taking a moment to catch her breath she began to move again and he felt like he was about to explode.

'Wait!' He begged.

It was just too soon for him.

She did as she asked and leaned down to kiss him.

He felt himself relax against her mouth, gaining a new grasp on control.

Gradually, the kiss became more demanding, more urgent as teeth came into play and she bit his lower lip.

His hands roamed across her back bringing her torso against his.

He tore his mouth from hers when she began to move again, his head dropping to her chest as he tried to think off something, anything but the way she was making him feel.

His mind searched incessantly for topics that could delay what seemed inevitable. The way her breasts were swaying against his face wasn't helping matters.

Intuitively, one hand abandoned her back to cup one of her breasts, bringing it to his eager mouth. His lips greedily sucked at her nipple as she steadily increased the pace.

'Oh, God!' He practically growled when he felt her clasp on him tighten.

He was lost; he had to do something, anything!

With a hazy mind his hand left her breast to glide between their bodies, his thumb slipping into the tight spot and finding the small nub at the spot where her nether lips came together. It took all of his concentration to begin drawing small circles around it, but it was worth it when he heard her moan, her nails digging into his shoulders.

Unfortunately, as a direct result of his actions her grip on him seemed to tighten even further.

He watched as she let her head drop back, exposing herself to him completely as she continued to ride him with fervour.

He swallowed dryly. He had to think of something else.

He closed his eyes, trying to focus on anything other than the woman moving against him.

'Oh, God... This... Ah!'

Her cries would be the death of him.

'Lois...'

'Ah, feels...'

This was not going to work!

'Lois, please just...'

'...so good!'

'Please, stop… talking...' He pushed up into her and she gasped:

'Jesus... Clark!'

The sound of his real name instead of her usual nickname for him seemed to do it.

In one last attempt he drove into her hard, quickly flipping his thumb over her clit.

His eyes rolled into the back of his head when he felt her inner muscles spasm around him and finally allowed himself to let go.

He erratically thrust up into her a couple more times as the orgasm took over his body, vaguely aware of her nails clawing at his back as she dealt with her own moment of intense pleasure.

As the sensation subsided and the numbness took over the two toppled back onto the mattress in an exhausted panting heap.

He lay there, on the bed, with her body still draped on top of his, marvelling at the delicious feeling that rumbled in his chest.

Breathing in, he inhaled her scent; his weak hand coming to brush away the damp locks of hair that stuck to her face.

Carefully, he rolled them over to the side, laying her on her stomach, next to him.

She had her eyes closed. Her cheeks were still bright red from the very recent exertion, her clammy hair was messy and partially clinging to her exposed back; a single drop of sweat trickled down the side of her neck.

He stared at her for quite some time, waiting for her to open her eyes. She never did.

He felt a pang in his chest when he remembered just what circumstances had led to this precise moment.

'Lois...' He called reaching for the sheets and covering her with them.

His hand remained on her back, his thumb drawing small circles on her moist skin urging her to awaken.

'Lois...'

There was no answer.

Shaking her lightly, he repeated, the fear easily creeping its way into his voice:

'Lois, come on...'

She didn't budge.

It was then he noticed just how shallow her breathing was.

'Lois!' He rolled her onto her back and came to hover over her motionless form. 'Lois, come on, this isn't funny!' He warned her. 'Lois!'

Holding both of her arms he tried to shake her out of her stupor.

This couldn't be happening! It was too soon! They had more time!

'Lois... please...' He choked out the words.

This couldn't be happening.

'Lois, can you hear me? LOIS!'

Nothing. She remained lifeless, her neck arched as her head dangled back limply.

Cautiously, he laid her back on the bed. Pulling up the sheet to cover her naked shape again, he let his head rest on her barely moving chest. He could scarcely hear her weak heartbeat.

He suddenly couldn't breathe. Every gasp he pulled in seemed to get caught in his throat, the air refusing to fill his sore lungs.

Looking up at her with bloodshot eyes, he made his decision. He didn't want to leave her but he had to.

'I'll be right back.' He whispered meekly, running his hand through her hair and placing a soft peck on her lips before turning around to pick up his clothes.

He raced up the steps to the main lodge; he didn't care about caution or the element of surprise, or the fact that he didn't know if there was anything he could do for her. To hell with that! He didn't care about anything but finding a way to save her.

There was no one at the counter.

Maybe they were on the first floor. With his blood boiling, he raced up the stairs, taking the steps two at a time.

His search proved fruitless.

The car was still outside; they had to be in the house. Maybe they were in the secret compartment bellow. He made his way back to the ground floor and his eyes darted towards the door that led to the small office in the back. Swinging it open he looked around. It was empty. His gaze scanned on the floor. Maybe there was a secret access. He found nothing.

He let out a frustrated growl, furious that he didn't have his abilities.

It didn't matter; he was going to find a way to get to that compartment even if he had to dig his way there with his bare hands.

Walking back to the reception area his stare froze when he caught a glimpse of metal on the floor, behind the counter.

Coming around it, a glimmer of hope filled him when he saw the trapdoor. Bending down he pulled at the metallic loop. Beneath it he found another entrance, this one clearly more sophisticated and made out of lead.

It took all of his strength, at least the one he had left, to prop open the heavy door; his eyes widening when he found a staircase.

He attentively took the steps that led him to a darkened room. He frowned seeing the impressive paraphernalia that made the space cluttered.

A massive assortment of pipes covered most of the wall in front of him; the steam soaring from most of them telling him that they were extremely hot. The pipes seemed to all come together at the far corner of the room to form a large metallic structure. At the centre of this machine was a small, rectangular compartment with a glass opening. Through the transparent material he could see a simple needle dripping a reddish liquid into a test tube.

On the opposite wall he found a man, sitting in front of a computer screen, his back to him.

Clark's gaze dropped to the floor to find Ruth's unconscious body. He could see she was bleeding from a large gash on her temple.

'What have you done to her?' He'd never heard so much anger in his own voice before but he ignored it, fisting his hands as Nathaniel turned around to face him.

'What are you doing here? How did you-'

Before he could finish the question Clark's hand was gripping his throat tightly, slamming him against the wall. Even without his super-strength he was till very strong.

'What did you do to her?'

'I-I-' Nathaniel choked, struggling for air.

Clark loosened his grip just enough to allow him to speak in complete sentences.

'How are you still-' He coughed. 'You should be in a coma right now. You couldn't have- AH!'

'I asked you a question.'

'Why do you care about Ruth?'

'I wasn't talking about her!' He hissed between clenched teeth. 'What did you do to Lois?'

'Who's- Ah!'

Nathaniel cried out when Clark's fingers gripped his windpipe harder, making it impossible to breath.

He held him in place for a few seconds, watching the redness in the man's cheek slowly acquired a purple-like colouring.

'I'll ask you one more time.' He sneered in a low voice. 'What. Did. You. Do?'

Nathaniel gasped frantically for air when Clark finally let go of his throat. Doubled over, the man went into a coughing fit. After what seemed like an eternity he looked up at Clark in awe.

'How-how did you survive? You should be dead. You can't be- Ah!'

Nathaniel quickly found himself pinned against the wall again, this time by his shoulders, Clark's large hands keeping him in place.

'How can I save her?' He demanded.

Nathaniel was still shocked; his eyes were large scanning every inch of Clark's face, as if trying to commit it to memory.

'You can't.' He said simply.

Before he knew it he was being thrown across the room. Nathaniel groaned in pain as his back slammed against the lead surface.

When he stood up Clark was already towering over him, picking him up by the lapels of his jacket.

'How can I save her?'

'I told you-'

Nathaniel felt the wind get blown out of him as Clark's fist connected violently with his stomach.

'TELL ME!' Clark yelled delivering a series of blows until Nathaniel lay limply on the floor.

'I-I-' Blood dripped from the corner of his mouth as he talked. '-don't know how.'

Fear and desperation gripped him. There had to be a way, there had to!

With angry tears threatening to overflow, his eyes frantically scanned the room, trying to find something, anything... She couldn't... He couldn't lose her.

'Is that it?!' he pointed the strange machine in the corner, walking over to it with ground eating steps. 'Is that how you did it? Is this what's killing her? IS IT?!' He screamed picking up the discarded pole and raising it over his head threateningly ready to destroy everything in his blind rage.

He swung at it, causing a small dent in the metallic surface. In his blind fury, Clark failed to notice the greenish vapour that began to leak out of the small gap he'd created.

'NO!' Nathaniel pleaded from his spot on the floor.

Looking back at him, Clark recognized the fear in the man's eyes. He was hiding something. Working solely on instinct he turned to face the small glass compartment.

'It's the liquid.'

Turning to see Nathaniel's eye grow wider he continued.

'Whatever you've taking from us is in there, isn't it?'

When Nathaniel failed to answer Clark yelled:

'ISN'T IT?'

This time he was answered with a defeated nodded.

With his heart racing with restored hope he reached for the glass door. Suddenly, he doubled over the familiar ache ripping through his body - kryptonite.

He dropped to the floor, in pain. He looked up to finally notice the green smoke that now enveloped the machine.

He struggled to stand up, but was unable to. He was too weak, too tire, too...

'Apparently, you are not as special as I thought you were, Mr. Kent.'

It was Nathaniel's turn to hover over him; a smug grin on his bloody lips.

'Just a little bit more… resilient, I guess.'

Nathaniel's grin faded when he realised that Clark wasn't apathetic or comatose. He was in pain!

Why?


	10. Chapter 10

Part 10

It felt like every time he inhaled, the air burned its way into his lungs and melted into his bloodstream to turn his veins into agonizing swollen strings.

'What are you?' Nathaniel asked for the second time, coming down to kneel next to a squirming Clark.

He looked up at the machine and then back to the boy huddling on the floor.

It was the smoke. It was making him sick. Intrigued he pondered for a few seconds, trying to understand why he would react that way to the vapour. Its components were pretty much the same that he'd been pumping into their cabin for the last two days.

The only difference was the higher concentration of the green meteor rock.

So that was what was making him sick?

'Hmm...'

Looking back to the machine he noticed that there was no more liquid trickling from the needle.

'I guess your friend...' He narrowed his eyes as he tried to remember the name the boy had yelled at him. '... Lois, was it?'

Standing up he opened the small glass door and retrieved the test tube, he continued to speak as he poured its contents into a metallic capsules.

'I guess she's dead.' Tilting his head mockingly he added with false sympathy. 'And, by the looks of it you'll be joining her soon, won't you?'

He twisted his thin lips into a makeshift smile.

'I would have loved to have known more about you, boy. But I guess that's the way the-'

He stopped in mid sentence was the metal connected with the back of his head. Instantly he dropped to the floor unconscious.

Clark was barely able to open his eyes to see the blurry outline of a woman before passing out.

'Lois!' He jerked up into a sitting position.

Frowning, he tried to figure out just where he was. After a few seconds his mind supplied the answer – he was sitting behind the reception counter at the main lodge. Glancing to his right he found the trapdoor was closed.

'A-Are you ok?'

The voice came from behind him. He turned around to find a battered Ruth looking back at him.

He nodded. His mind was still a little fuzzy.

'I hit him and dragged you out here.' She answered the unspoken question lingering around him.

'Lois!' He remembered.

Standing up, he covered the distance between the cabins with ground eating steps and was running into their room in under a minute.

She was still lying there, stone-like. Immediately, he was at her side staring at her with watery eyes. Her chest wasn't moving.

He swallowed dryly as two trembling fingers made their way to her neck. He waited. One, two seconds and…

There it was! It was very faint and barely noticeable but it was definitely there - a pulse. After another two seconds he felt it again.

His hand spread over the length of her neck to cup her cheek as he leaned in.

Ruth watched from the threshold as he whispered something in her ear.

Her stomach knotted at the idea that she had been responsible for this. For this and God knows how many other deaths.

'Mr. Kent…' She managed to voice out.

'What?' His reply came in the form of a scrawny, gut-wrenching mutter as he kept his face buried in her hair.

'I-I think I can…' He snapped up to attention before she could finish: 'I-I'm not sure, but I think I can help.'

Ignoring the broken down door, she walked into the room. It was only then he noticed she was clutching something in both hands. She opened her left one to reveal a syringe and an intravenous needle, both neatly wrapped up in sealed sterilized packaging.

'I wasn't exactly the brain behind this operation but… um…' She struggled, trying to figure out were to start.

It was such a long story. She decided to stick to what was essential.

'Have you heard of the name Nathaniel Grey?'

Seeing no sign of recognition in Clark's face she continued:

'Nathaniel was a… geologist. He worked for a private organization and was sent to Smallville to investigate the strange rocks that had been found there after the meteor shower. He found two very distinct rock types, one green and one red and found out they had very special characteristic. He discovered that combining the two at just the right dosages they had the ability to draw out someone's…' She paused trying to find the right word. '…life force.

After a beat she continued:

'Nathaniel calls it the life force of people. It's what drives people, what makes them dream, plan and… act out those plans, I guess. Without it, we are nothing more than an inanimate object, with no need to exist, so the body gradually shuts down. There are a lot of names for it in all the different cultures in the world, in ours I guess you could call it… a soul.

He found a way to harvest it in the form of a liquid. With this liquid he was able to stop the aging process. That's when he came here.

Under these cabins he built an elaborate plumbing system that connects the main lodge to every single room in every cabin.' She pointed at the air-conditioning. 'At night we pump air into the rooms. This air contains small traces of the two meteor rocks, the green one to weaken the person and the red one to extract the life force. The ventilation then sucks out the air, directing it back to that compartment under the main lodge. There, the air is heated and, for lack of a better word, its contents are distilled into this liquid.' She opened her right hand to reveal four capsules. 'Nathaniel has been injecting a small amount it every week for the last thirteen years and he hasn't aged a day since.'

Clark looked at her with expectant eyes.

'I-I think if you inject this into her she could…' She trailed off.

He stared at the metallic vials. What if it didn't work? What if it hurt her? He couldn't risk it. Looking at her motionless body he made his decision.

'We'll try that on me first. I'm not going to risk hurting her.'

Ruth nodded and began preparing the needle and the syringe.

Extracting only a fraction of the contents of one of the capsules she looked at Clark as he exposed his left arm.

He watched as she injected the fluid into his system and waited.

He didn't feel anything. The seconds ticked away and still he didn't feel any different.

'It's not working.' He mumbled distraught.

Ruth gave him a sympathetic look.

Sitting on the bed, he leaned over Lois' seemingly sleeping form. She was slowly dying and there was nothing he could do. Nothing…

Ruth watched as he nestled his face against the crook of her neck, his muffled sobs filling the silent room.

'I-I'm so sorry!' Ruth nervously broke the stillness. 'I-I never knew that we were taking so much! You have to believe me, I-I didn't know anyone was dead because of it. He told me we were just taking a little bit, so he could… so he could live.' Her eyes welled up with tears. 'I'm so sorry.'

He didn't hear her.

The entire world seemed to have faded away. Everything slowed down as if to reverently match the desperately sluggish beat of her heart. Every strike echoed in his ears. Her scent, the way her hair felt against his cheek and the faint sound of every breath she took was all his mind could absorb at that moment.

'I'm so sorry…' He whispered, nuzzling his face against the small nook he found under her ear.

'Give them back!'

The angry voice filtered into his small world, violently snapping him out of it. Sitting up he turned to see a very livid Nathaniel standing over the broken door, a gun in his hand.

Standing up Clark regarded him with a blank expression. Even though he was aware that in his current state he could die, there was no fear in him. There was no reason for it anymore.

'I want it back, Ruth! I know you took it! Give it back!' The man raved insanely.

'It's over Nathaniel. I'm not letting you hurt anyone else!'

'Oh, really?' Nathaniel sneered.

Pointing the gun at Clark he fired a single shot unceremoniously.

'No!' Ruth screamed.

The two men watched as Ruth's body slowly dropped to the floor lifeless; a thick red pool of blood quickly oozed from under her to stain the hardwood.

'It can't be!'

Clark's eyes darted from the dead woman to Nathaniel to find him staring mesmerized at his chest.

Unhurriedly, Clark looked down, just in time to see the smashed bullet fall to the floor.

The small bits of information jerked into place in his foggy mind.

The bullet had passed clear through Ruth's body and hit him straight in the chest.

His heart jumped to his throat when he realised - he had his abilities back! It worked!

He could still save her!

With a glare in his eyes he looked up to meet the man standing across the room from him. He was still clutching a gun in his hand. It wouldn't do him any good.

With a deep creasing frown over his brow and a gaping mouth he tried to make sense of what he'd just witnessed.

The boy should be dead but...

Before he could say anything he was being flung across the room. His head absorbed most of the impact as he hit the wall and came crashing to the floor unconscious.

Instantly, Clark was at her side once more. Picking up the syringe he fidgeted with it. Memories of numerous campaigns warning against the dangers of sharing needles filled his rushing mind.

He looked up at her. Even with his restored heightened hearing it was hard to pick up the sound of her heartbeat and he sensed there wasn't much time.

Desperation took over; the only thing on his mind was the fact that the serum in the syringe was the only thing that could save her.

Outstretching her arm he let it dangle over the edge of the bed. After a few seconds he found a vein in the crook of her elbow. Looking up at her face one more time he slipped the needle under her skin and pushed the plastic piston, watching as the liquid disappeared into her body.

Setting the syringe on the bedside table he waited with a racing heart.

Holding his breath he listened as the shallow thumping picked up speed and strength. Gradually, her chest began to move.

It seemed like an eternity passed before she began stir, a small wrinkle forming over the bridge of her nose as the outside world filtered into he awakening mind.

She tried to open her eyelids but the late afternoon glow was too harsh. Blinking a few times her eyes adjusted to it and soon the blurry figure sitting at her bedside morphed into a familiar image.

'Smallville?' Her voice was hoarse, her throat dry.

She saw the genuine smile take over his lips as relief washed over him and soon she found herself engulfed in a tight embrace.

'I thought I'd lost you.' She heard him whisper in her hear.

Her mind was still fuzzy.

'Where am I?' She asked into his shoulder.

He slowly pulled away from her to meet her eyes.

'We're at the cabins.' He tried to find some sign of recognition in her eyes. There was none.

'What cabins?'

She looked around taking in the small room, the wardrobe to her right, next to the broken down door? She frowned.

The bedside table with a syringe on top of it, the window to her left and... there was something on the floor. She pushed him back in order to see.

'Jesus Christ!' She screamed scrambling away to the other side of the mattress clutching the sheets against her chest. Correction - her NAKED chest.

Her eyes grew comically large as she quickly looked down lifting the fabric just enough to realise she was currently fashioning her birthday suit.

She tried to sound as composed as possible:

'Smallville... Why am I naked? And why is there a dead woman in the room?'

'You'll have to come to the station for an official statement tomorrow.' Deputy Wilkins announced and Clark nodded, his eyes focussed on her.

She was standing on the porch, wrapping her coat around her form to protect it from the cool night breeze while she spoke to a female officer who took her statement.

He'd given the Deputy the non-Smallville version of the story. Lois and he had come back to the cabin after a walk in the wood to find Nathaniel and Ruth arguing in there room. Between heated yells and shrieks he had pulled out a gun and shot her. Clark had subdued the older man and called the police.

Nathaniel's reaction when he'd woken up to find the room filled with police officers had only helped sell the unlikely story.

He'd kicked and screamed nonsensical obscenities about how Ruth was stealing from him.

'She tried to take it from me. I couldn't let her. I couldn't!'

He'd stared with reddened, glassy eyes at Clark as he was dragged by the authorities into a police car.

'I'll see you tomorrow, Mr. Kent.'

Clark mechanically nodded and shook the hand that was present to him.

Her trembling fingers came to push an unruly thread behind her ear as she watched Ruth's body be carried out in a gurney.

The officer seemed to have finished as she scribbled one last thing on her notepad before flipping it close and putting it away in the inside pocket of her jacket.

Tipping the edge of her hat in Lois' direction she said her goodbyes and strode over to meet Deputy Wilkins.

Within five minutes everyone was gone.

Shoving his hand into his jeans he walked over to the cabin, stopping when he reached the steps to the front porch.

'Are you alright?'

'Considering I don't remember anything that happened over the last two days? Yeah, I'm just peachy!'

He didn't say anything, letting his gaze drop to the ground.

'So... are you going to fill me in on what happened?'

He pondered his choice. That was all he had been doing since she'd woken up without any recollection of the last two days. Without any recollection of... them.

What was he supposed to do? Tell her that while under the influence of Ruth and Nathaniel's freaky smoke they developed strange feelings for one another and had had sex?

Not a very good idea. She would never understand. She would hate him and he would lose her for certain. He couldn't risk that. He'd rather go back to the way it was before. He would simply pretend nothing had happened. Pretend that nothing had changed in him in the course of those two days.

He was sure that the disconcerting feeling making his stomach contract wildly at her nearness, the tightness in his chest at the sight of her was just an after effect of the smoke. It would go away.

Everything would go back to normal.

He inhaled deeply before muttering.

'Not much...'

'I wake up naked in a strange room with a broken down door, an unconscious guy and a dead woman and you say not much happened?'

He told her a carefully edited version of the story. Told her about the Berkley's, how they'd ended up in the hospital, how they'd come back to the cabins and waited for Ruth and Nathaniel to go to sleep.

She'd gone up to her room. When time came he went up and realised that he couldn't wake her up so he decided to go to the main lodge.

'Wait! Why weren't you affected?' Lois questioned unconvinced.

'Because... I slept downstairs. I guess they were just pumping that smoke into the bedrooms.' He quickly supplied the lie.

She looked at him sideways, her arms crossed over her chest. Noticing that she was content with his improvised explanation he continued describing what had happened in the secret compartment, how he and Ruth had come back to help her, he told her everything up to the point when Ruth had jumped in front of the bullet to save him.

'Why'd she do that?'

After a moment of pause he shrugged.

'I really don't know. Maybe she just felt really bad about everything or she thought that Nathaniel wouldn't shoot her.' He offered.

'And then...'

'I fought him, he ended up unconscious on the floor and then I gave you the serum. End of story.'

Looking up at him, she held his stare for a long time. He tried to look as innocent as possible under her scrutiny.

'Do we still have some serum left?'

'More than enough.'

'Good. I can get us to the hospital in under two hours!' She said playfully punching him in the shoulder before rushing into the cabin and up the stairs.

_ 'It'll go away... and everything will go back to normal.'_ He thought watching her.

She was halfway up the steps when she noticed he was still standing at the door. Letting out a frustrated sigh she yelled over her shoulder:

'Let's go, Smallville. Chop-chop!'

The lump in his throat tightened as she disappeared into the room.

It would go away. He was sure...

The End


End file.
